Fuuma Kojiro

For anyone who hasn't seen the first four films, never fear. This episode begins with quite a long recap. But beware ! Some of the recap misrepresents the story. But no matter. Episode 5 is pretty good in fact nearly as good as the first ep.
All the familiar characters are still there. Otsu (MM's great love), Akemi, Matahachi (his former fellow soldier), old lady Osugi (still doggedly trying to defeat MM), and even the return of Priest Takuan (the man responsible for MM's journey towards enlightenment). But most of all, the boastful, long-haired and long-sworded Kojiro Sasaki. Most of the final ep builds up to MM's battle with KS. However, the highlights for me were Takuan's brief appearances (this guy is just so likeable !) and another love scene between Otsu and MM. Curiously, there is also quite a lot of humour in this one. For instance, the scenes featuring the horse traders, who initially try to oppose MM but soon become his faithful followers, are simply hilarious.
I found the final battle with KS to be quite a letdown, particularly as it was to be the climax of the series.
But, again, no matter, this is still well worth watching either as part of the series or on its own.

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma is back for a sixth album with the Silk Road Ensemble. "Sing me Home" is the companion album for a new documentary film called The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. The album is a musical exploration of the notion of "home", from the diverse perspectives of the members of the Silk Road Ensemble. With a mix of traditional tunes and original songs we're taken on a tour of homes around the world from the Balkans to China, India, Iran, Ireland, Japan, Mali, Syria, and the United States.

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma is back for a sixth album with the Silk Road Ensemble. "Sing me Home" is the companion album for a new documentary film called The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. The album is a musical exploration of the notion of "home", from the diverse perspectives of the members of the Silk Road Ensemble. With a mix of traditional tunes and original songs we're taken on a tour of homes around the world from the Balkans to China, India, Iran, Ireland, Japan, Mali, Syria, and the United States.

he Samurai Trilogy, directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and starring the inimitable Toshiro Mifune, was one of Japan’s most successful exports of the 1950s, a rousing, emotionally gripping tale of combat and self-discovery. Based on a novel that’s often called Japan’s Gone with the Wind, this sweeping saga fictionalizes the life of the legendary seventeenth-century swordsman (and writer and artist) Musashi Miyamoto, following him on his path from unruly youth to enlightened warrior. With these three films—1954’s Oscar-winning Musashi Miyamoto, 1955’s Duel at Ichijoji Temple, and 1956’s Duel at Ganryu Island—Inagaki created a passionate epic that’s equal parts tender love story and bloody action.

Poor, in debt, and living on instant noodles, high school kendo instructor Kojiro makes a bet with an old friend on a practice meet between the all-girls’ teams of their respective schools. The prize: a year’s worth of free sushi! It’s too good for the desperate Kojiro to pass up...

A humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He's sought as a teacher and vassal by Shogun, Japan's most powerful clan leader. He's also challenged to fight by the supremely confident and skillful Sasaki Kojiro. Takezo agrees to fight Kojiro in a year's time but rejects Shogun's patronage, choosing instead to live on the edge of a village, raising vegetables. He's followed there by Otsu and later by Akemi, both in love with him. The year ends as Takezo assists the villagers against a band of brigands. He seeks Otsu's forgiveness and accepts her love, then sets off across the water to Ganryu Island for his final contest.

Hiroshi Inagaki's acclaimed Samurai Trilogy is based on the novel that has been called Japan's Gone with the Wind. This sweeping saga of the legendary seventeenth-century samurai Musashi Miyamoto (powerfully portrayed by Toshiro Mifune) plays out against the turmoil of a devastating civil war. The Trilogy (whose first part won an Academy Award®) follows Musashi's odyssey from unruly youth to enlightened warrior. In the second and most violent installment, Duel at Ichijoji Temple, Musashi beats a samurai armed with a chain-and-sickle and is later set upon by eighty samurai disciples—orchestrated by the sinister Kojiro—while the two women who love him watch helplessly.