Note from Richard Burt: This essay is not properly formatted, but it is otherwise excellent.

Sean Hale

Throne of Blood

(dir. Akira Kurosawa, 1957)

Part One: Brief Description of Film Clip

This clip shows the interaction of Taketoki Washizu (Toshiro Mifune) and Yoshiteru

Miki (Akira Kubo) with the old ghost woman (Chieko Naniwa) in the forest when they

approach her strange hut after being lost in the woods. She tells the men their futures while

they listen incredulously and question her. She then disappears, and the baffled men rush

into and through her hut. The hut disappears behind them, and they silently investigate the

piles of bones and armor stacked behind the hut before leaving the area to get lost in the

fog again.

Total Length: Four minutes and six seconds

Begins: 15:42

Ends: 19:48

Total Number of Shots: 17

Part Two: Analysis / Shot by Shot Description

Shot 1 -

Start/Stop Time – 15:42 - 16:18

1

Length – 36 seconds

Description – Medium long shot, stationary camera, head on, deep focus. The ghost woman

is seated on the floor in the center of the frame in her hut. She sings a song about the

dangers of ambition while she spins silk on a wheel. Washizu and Miki enter from behind

and to the left of the camera. Washizu opens the door of the hut then stands to the right of

the doorway, while Miki stands on the left side. They are on the edges of the frame at a

medium distance with their backs to the camera. Washizu questions the ghost about who

she is, but she tells him instead of his future. Eerie string music plays quietly with the shot.

Annotation – The perfectly centered framing of the ghost combined with her lack of

concern about the appearance of warriors yelling questions at her creates an eerie

atmosphere. Her strangeness lends credence to her claims of future knowledge.

Shot 2 -

Start/Stop Time – 16:18 – 16:21

Length – 3.5 seconds

Description – Medium close-up, stationary camera that tilts slightly up, slightly low angle,

deep focus. Reaction shot of Washizu questioning the ghost’s claims about Washizu’s

future. He is centered in the frame with the edge of the hut’s doorway in the left foreground

and the tangle of branches of the woods in the background. The camera tilts very slightly

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upward to maintain the framing as Washizu adjusts his footing. The music continues as

before.

Annotation – This quick reaction shot shows the fear and disbelief in Washizu’s face that

could not be seen in the previous shot.

Shot 3 -

Start/Stop Time – 16:21 – 16:28

Length – 7 seconds

Description – Medium close up, stationary camera that tilts up, slightly high angle, deep

focus. Closer shot of the ghost sitting and spinning in her hut. There is a layer of fog or

smoke down at this level. She and her wheel take up most of the frame, and she smiles

placidly. The music gets a little louder as she continues with her prophecy of Washizu

becoming sovereign of Spider’s Web Castle.

Annotation – This shot allows the viewer the first close shot of the ghost’s face, and she

looks especially creepy sitting in the fog.

Shot 4 -

3

Start/Stop Time – 16:28 – 16:30

Length – 2 seconds

Description – Same as shot 2, but Washizu says nothing as the ghost finishes her sentence.

He looks silently to his left, the right of the frame, towards Miki.

Annotation – The look on Washizu’s face is one of wary confusion.

Shot 5 -

Start/Stop Time – 16:30 – 16:50

Length - 20 seconds

Description – Medium long shot, stationary camera, head on from waist height, deep focus.

The opposite of the first shot, the ghost is now shown from behind, seated in the

foreground with her head at the center of the frame. Washizu and Miki look at each other

for a moment, then Washizu laughs nervously and asks why the ghost would say these

things. They are standing just outside the doorway to the left and right of center of the

frame, respectively. The ghost questions why he would be so angry about such good news.

He angrily responds in the The Great Lord’s defense.

Annotation – This shot allows the viewer to see the bewilderment of both Washizu and

Miki at the same time while still retaining the ghost’s centrality in the frame, which allows

her to maintain the control of the scene.

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Shot 6 -

Start/Stop Time – 16:50 – 17:03

Length – 13 seconds

Description – Same as shot 3. Return to the closer shot of the ghost while she jokes to

herself about the strangeness of humans.

Annotation – Returning to this shot allows the viewer to see the smile come across the

ghost’s face, emphasizing how much fun she is having at the humans’ expense.

Shot 7 -

Start/Stop Time – 17:03 – 17:07

Length – 4 seconds

Description – Same as shots 2 and 4, but the camera tilts slightly downward to maintain

Washizu’s framing as he becomes angrier and draws his bow and arrow on the ghost.

Annotation – Considering the shot that follows, this shot is not entirely necessary to show

the action of the scene. However, the repetition of these shots and others in the scene is

part of a larger theme of repetition that is central to the film.

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Shot 8 -

Start/Stop Time – 17:07 – 17:50

Length – 43 seconds

Description – The same as shot one, only now Miki quiets Washizu so the ghost can tell his

future. The ghost tells the story nearly the same as she did to Washizu.

Annotation – This shot, like the last, continues the trend of repetitive shots within the

scene. Here it starts to become explicit that repetition is key to the scene and film.

Shot 9 -

Start/Stop Time – 17:50 – 17:54

Length – 4 seconds

Description – Very similar to shot 4, only now the right side of the doorway is seen in the

foreground and Miki is centered in the frame in medium close-up. He questions the ghost’s

prophecy using the same wording as Washizu had used, and then he looks to his right, the

left of the frame, so look at Washizu.

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Annotation – The scene is very intentionally repeating the same shots with minor

alterations to show that this type of prophecy is applicable to many people, and that it has

and will indeed come true for many more.

Shot 10 -

Start/Stop Time – 17:54 – 18:10

Length – 16 seconds

Description – Same as shot 5, Miki questions further about his future, and the ghost

cryptically says it will be both more and less than Washizu’s.

Annotation – This shot not only allows for the reaction of both Miki and Washizu to be

seen, since the prophecy concerns them both, but it also continues the repetition of the

scene. The shots are virtually identical, as well as having very similar durations.

Shot 11 -

Start/Stop Time – 18:10 – 18:14

Length – 4 seconds

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Description – Same as shot 9, Miki questions what the ghost means, and the camera pans

slightly to follow him as he adjusts his footing.

Annotation – The repetition is now beginning to create a sense of dread as the scene plays

out. The uncanny quality of the shots adds tension.

Shot 12 -

Start/Stop Time – 18:14 – 18:21

Length – 7 seconds

Description – Same as shots 3 and 6, the ghost tells Miki that his son will one day rule

Spider’s Web Castle.

Annotation – This repeats the shot of the ghost telling Washizu his destiny to rule the

castle but with a slight alteration.

Shot 13 -

Start/Stop Time – 18:21 – 18:23

Length – 2 seconds

8

Description – Same as shots 9 and 11, Miki looks towards the ghost with a troubled

expression then he turns towards Washizu. The music begins to swell at this odd message.

Annotation – As the implications of the prophecy become more confusing, the music adds

to the tension.

Shot 14 -

Start/Stop Time – 18:23 – 18:32

Length – 9 seconds

Description – Same as shots 5 and 10, but as Washizu and Miki exchange looks, the ghost

stands to be the height of the frame. The music swells loudly along with the sound of a

strong wind. The ghost’s robe blows upward and the shot is cut seamlessly so that the

ghost disappears instantly while Washizu and Miki stay still. They look at each other

silently and start to charge into the hut.

Annotation – This shot breaks the tension of the repetition of the scene by verifying the

ghost’s supernatural power. The unexpected nature of the disappearance adds to its

spooky effect.

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Shot 15 -

Start/Stop Time – 18:32 – 19:05

Length – 33 seconds

Description – Shot begins from the same vantage as shots 1 and 8, only it picks up as

Washizu and Miki charge into the hut. The music quiets down but continues as the men

look around for a few seconds before Miki knocks out the back wall of the hut. The strings

pick up again, and the camera dollies forward slowly as the men rush out behind the hut.

The camera gets through the hut as well and the music continues the tense melody while

the men are framed in a medium long shot looking around for any sign of the demon. Their

backs are to the camera for several seconds until they both turn to face the direction of the

hut. Washizu points and exclaims, and the two men step towards the camera which dollies

backward, away from them. The men stop where the hut should be and the camera

continues back to its original position in the shot. The men look around and at each other

but say nothing. Washizu points further out behind the hut and the two men start that way

into the fog.

Annotation – This clever shot allows the viewer to join in the chase with Washizu and Miki

while also allowing for the hut to be removed from the set without cutting the shot. This

further enhances the impression of the ghost’s supernatural power.

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Shot 16 -

Start/Stop Time – 19:05 – 19:41

Length – 36 seconds

Description – Medium long shot, tilting and panning camera, head on and slightly high

angle, deep focus. The shot begins with pile of leafy detritus along with bones and armor

filling the width of the frame and going up about two thirds of the frame’s height. Washizu

enters from the right following the path behind the hut. When Miki enters the frame behind

him, the camera pans to the left with them as they walk. They stop to look at the pile and

around the rest of the area. As they begin to continue left the camera tilts down to reveal

another similar pile in front of the camera. The camera pans left showing Miki and Washizu

from the knees to the waist walking behind the pile. The eerie music continues. The camera

tilts up at the edge of the pile to reframe Washizu and Miki in full view. Washizu is on the

left edge of the frame and Miki is on the right edge, and another pile of detritus, bones, and

armor is behind them. They look around for a couple seconds then walk back to the right.

The camera pans to follow them as they exit the area. It stops when the first pile is in view

again, framed the same as before. Miki and Washizu exit the frame to the right.

Annotation – This shot begins strange enough with the sight of the giant pile of bones, but

when the camera tilts and pans to reveal more piles it becomes horrifying. The piles being

separated leads the viewer to believe that they may possibly be from separate conflicts.

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The repetitive nature of the ghost’s conversation and the shots in the scene give the

impression that these piles of bones will continue to amass.

Shot 17 -

Start/Stop Time – 19:41 – 19:48

Length – 7 seconds

Description – Medium long shot, stationary camera, head on, deep focus. Closer shot of a

pile of bones, detritus, and armor. The pile nearly fills the frame, and it is shrouded in

billowing fog. The eerie music quiets down but continues. The shot dissolves into another

that is completely filled with fog.

Annotation – This closer view of the bones adds weight to their significance. They are not

simply meant to be seen and moved on from, as Washizu and Miki attempt to do. Kurosawa

forces the viewer to focus on them for several seconds with no other distractions. History

unheeded is bound to be repeated.

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