Story perspectives

Kurosawa's Samurai Film “The Prisoner” Debuts, Motoki Stars

5/22/2026

Summary

Story summary

Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa released the samurai film The Samurai And The Prisoner.
Masahiro Motoki stars as Murashige Araki, whose betrayal of warlord Nobunaga Oba drives the 1578 plot.
When envoy Kanbei Kuroda warns Murashige of an Arioka Castle siege, Murashige imprisons him, violating the samurai code.
The screenplay adapts author Honobu Yonezawa’s Naoki Prize-winning novel Kokurojo, giving the production a larger budget than Kurosawa’s earlier films.

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Story summary

Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa released the samurai film The Samurai And The Prisoner.
Masahiro Motoki stars as Murashige Araki, whose betrayal of warlord Nobunaga Oba drives the 1578 plot.
When envoy Kanbei Kuroda warns Murashige of an Arioka Castle siege, Murashige imprisons him, violating the samurai code.
The screenplay adapts author Honobu Yonezawa’s Naoki Prize-winning novel Kokurojo, giving the production a larger budget than Kurosawa’s earlier films.