In the 16th century, a petty thief (Tatsuya Nakadai) is granted reprieve from crucifixion because he is the spitting image of the warlord Shingen (also played by Nakadai). Shingen often sends an impersonator out into battle in his place to keep the morale of his troops up while conveniently keeping himself out of harm’s way. Obviously, the thief’s appearance makes him the perfect choice for the role of kagemusha (shadow warrior). Unfortunately Shingen is mortally wounded by a sniper while watching a battle and with his dying wish he passes leadership on to the kagemusha, with the order that no one is to hear of his demise for three years. Can a common criminal rise up and lead his new clan to victory over his predecessor’s rivals or will he be discovered before he has the chance?
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Tags: akira kurosawa, hideo murata, jinpachi nezu, kagemusha, kai ato, kenichi hagiwara, koji shimizu, kota yui, noboru shimizu, sen yamamoto, shuhei sugimori, shuji otaki, takayuji shiho, tatsuya nakadai, tsutomu yamazaki