Zoku Miyamoto Musashi: Ichijôji no Kettô (Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple) (Swords of Doom) (1955)

85% of users liked it
(3,284 ratings)

Samurai 2: Duel at Ichijoji Temple follows the adventures of the 17th-century samurai Musashi Miyamoto (Toshiro Mifune), as he wanders through feudal Japan learning the ways of a samurai warrior. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 32 min.
Directed By: Hiroshi Inagaki
Written By: Tokuhei Wakao, Hiroshi Inagaki
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Art House & International

In Theaters: Jul 12, 1955 Wide

No Critic Reviews Found…

Featured Audience Ratings

Keiko A

Holy shit this was Radical!!! Truly one of the best opening's ever for this genre! Hiroshi Inagaki, director of I'm the Bodyguard, Woman of Shanghai, Samurai 1, 2 &3 bring's us one of the most outstanding of the Samurai ever and the 50s. Awesome plot and… More
Holy shit this was Radical!!! Truly one of the best opening's ever for this genre! Hiroshi Inagaki, director of I'm the Bodyguard, Woman of Shanghai, Samurai 1, 2 &3 bring's us one of the most outstanding of the Samurai ever and the 50s. Awesome plot and acting and great insite to my culture!
danny d

a great middle step to one of the best trilogies ever. the romantic melodrama was a little more overdone in this film than the other two of the trilogy, and the romantic monologues dominate much of the dialogue, but overall this is still a fantastic film and a great entry to a… More
a great middle step to one of the best trilogies ever. the romantic melodrama was a little more overdone in this film than the other two of the trilogy, and the romantic monologues dominate much of the dialogue, but overall this is still a fantastic film and a great entry to a wonderful story.
Stella D

the continuing adventures of crazy takezo, now an accomplished samurai. not quite as good as part 1 tho lovely to look at. all the women are after musashi but he prefers his sword :p
Ken S

Beautiful colors, dull story
Byron B

It starts kind of abruptly with Musashi Miyamoto dueling a guy with a chain and sickle. After he wins, a passing priest plants the idea in his head that he is too strong, that swordsmanship is about chivalry. Musashi spends most of the movie trying to challenge Seijuro, the head of… More
It starts kind of abruptly with Musashi Miyamoto dueling a guy with a chain and sickle. After he wins, a passing priest plants the idea in his head that he is too strong, that swordsmanship is about chivalry. Musashi spends most of the movie trying to challenge Seijuro, the head of a samurai school, which has fallen away from the samurai way and mostly consists of bandits. Multiple times he fights a group of this school's students who gang up on him instead of honoring his wishes to duel Seijuro one on one, always besting them. It's hard to see the fights as nearly all of them were shot in nearly complete darkness. He spends some time at a Geisha's house laying low, where the courtesan points out that his search for self-control has lead to a lack of affection. He also fights and kills Denshichiro, Seijuro's brother. Meanwhile, Otsu has still been waiting for Takezo/Musashi to return to her so they could begin a life together, but he now loves his sword more than her. Matahachi has become even more pitifully weak, sitting around singing sad songs and moping, but still trying to fool himself that he is a samurai. Oko has furthered an affair with a bandit from Seijuro's school, who we briefly met in the first part of the trilogy. These two schemers try to force Akemi, Oko's daughter, into a relationship with Seijuro. It has now become unclear who Akemi's father is, Matahachi, Takezo, or the bandit. Either way, Akemi has heard some stories of Takezo, probably from her mother or maybe folk tales, and now believes that she is in love with him. She begins to take after her mother quite a bit. Several characters don't appear anymore after this part of the story: Matahachi, Matahachi's parents, Oko, her bandit boyfriend, or the priest Takuan. The final main character to make an appearance in this part is Kojiro, who is a young samurai building quite a reputation with a new style of fighting. He works with Seijuro and is in favor of upsetting Musashi from his position as the greatest samurai, then when he sees Seijuro's students' lack of honor he becomes a sort of mediator, and finally, dragging Akemi along while watching from a distance, lets Musashi leave with the assurance that they will face each other later.
Chris B

Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple is an even more fierce and intense look at Miyamoto and his progress to become a master samurai. This is the first film that has Kojiro Sasaki as a young and powerful samurai who both admires Miyamoto but longs to be the best. Amazing battles are… More
Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple is an even more fierce and intense look at Miyamoto and his progress to become a master samurai. This is the first film that has Kojiro Sasaki as a young and powerful samurai who both admires Miyamoto but longs to be the best. Amazing battles are peppered throughout the film with the final battle between Seijuro Yoshioka and Miyamoto finally materializing after 80 of Seijuro's men battle Miyamoto alone. We finally see, in his mercy, Miyamoto becoming a true samurai with compassion and control. When he finally gives in and tries to be with Otsu, she denies him for what seems like no reason and in this action Miyamoto swears off all women and continues his travels. The cinematography here and acting as well as the battle sequences make this is a must see samurai film and essential for viewing the Samurai Trilogy as a whole.
a b

Mifune is the boss, as usual. And the outdoors nature settings are very moody and cinematic. But I got really tired of watching the female characters lie around crying all day. They're incredibly one-dimensional, weak characters.