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My name is Jubei Mitsuyoshi Yagyu.
I wouId be honored if my lord Musashi Miyamoto would counsel me on the...
...Way of the Sword. Please, a word of advice!
I never aspired to a career in the movies...
...because I had athletic ambitions.
I dreamed of making it to the Olympics one day as a gymnast.
So at the time, I was in college and I had an extremely grueling part-time job.
I mean it wasn't something I should've been doing as a bodybuilder.
Well, I ended up paying for my ignorance!
My part-time job took a heavy physical toll on me.
One day I was at school taking an exam, and I couldn't move my body.
I couldn't move my body for a full year after that.
That was a big blow for me.
I felt as if I had nowhere to go.
Then, something happened.
Until then, I'd never dreamed that I'd ever have a career in show business
...but actually I'd been a huge fan of the movies since I was in junior high.
Whenever I could slip out of school I'd go the movies.
Mostly American movies, but of course I saw a lot of samurai films too.
The movies were influencing me in so many different ways.
Humans are powerless...
I longed for the chance to say something like that in front of a woman!
I thought that was really cool, I'd like to be just like him someday...
That's how the movies influenced me back then.
So finally I decided that I wanted to work in show business.
There was one major motivating factor
Do you know what it was?
It was such a shock...
It was a shock, and at the same time it was such a revelation
I'm talking about James Dean.
If it weren't for James Dean I would never have become an actor.
Now that I can look back on 40 years of experience in the movie industry.
I'm abIe to see him in a different Iight.
If I saw his work again today I'm sure I'd make even more discoveries.
That's how real his acting is, it rings with truth.
It's just very realistic.
That's why Fukasaku always used to say...
Movies are all lies. Of course, samurai films are based on make-believe.
The point is whether or not we can make the audience believe...
...that we're showing them the truth.
Not to say that a lie is the truth...
...but to have them think that what they're seeing is the truth.
And that's exactly what James Dean's work brought home to me so powerfully.
I really believe that he turned my life around.
I am honored to be your opponent.
Jubei Yagyu, I'd wanted to play the role of Jubei Yagyu ever since...
...I started my career in samurai fiIms.
I'd been reading the novel ''Jubei'' and I was already taken in by Jubei's charisma.
Jubei Yagyu was a man who, during the reign of Iemitsu...
...the third Tokugawa shogun, had a lot of issues with the government.
In fact it seems that he opposed certain aspects of the government...
...which was being run by his own father, Tajima-no-kami.
So you have this father figure pulling the shogun's strings in the background...
...and all the retainers playing the game.
And then you have Jubei, whose philosophies...
...whose way of thinking just didn't seem to mesh with the rest.
So you can say that Jubei was, how should I say it...
...a true man of conviction, a peopIe's man.
He was a champion of the masses, the general public, and...
...politicaI arena, this caused a Iot of problems.
There were times when Jubei would be forced to kill his opponent...
...because whenever a conflict arose...
...his father the statesman would order him to take care of it.
And having to do this caused him a lot of anguish, as a samurai.
And this is one of the things I focused on when I was preparing for the role.
In every show there's always a clear sense of who's good and who's evil...
But in Jubei Yagyu's case, even when he's striking down Evil, he never acts...
...as though he's dealing the death blow to Evil.
Rather, he says, ''Forgive me, this is the world we live in.''
''This is the law and I have no choice but to do this.''
So there's never any sense of triumph for this man.
There's no way of knowing for sure whether it was like that or not...
...but he was later poisoned, at the age of 42.
He died when he was only 42, at a young age, you see.
He was poisoned, they poisoned him, the Shogunate...
...which was being run by his own father.
They killed him because he knew too much...
...and so they decided that they had to get Jubei Yagyu out of the way.
So you could say that Jubei was killed by the Shogunate itself...
...that he was killed at the hands of his own master.
As you can see Jubei led an extremely dramatic life.
Jubei Yagyu is one of the most interesting characters you can play.
In ''Samurai Reincarnation'' there's an extremely exciting scene...
...written by Fuutaro Yamada.
In this scene, Musashi Miyamoto actually crosses swords with Jubei Yagyu!
Historically speaking, this never could've happened!
But we got to do this scene in the movie.
I can't tell you how rewarding it was to do that movie!
Jubei fought not only Musashi in an amazing duel, but also his own father.
A battle with his father, played by the great Tomisaburo Wakayama!
It was simply incredible, and I was never more nervous as an actor.
It was an amazing experience.
As for Ken Ogata, I actually...
...did the reverse--I didn't meet with him to discuss the scene, not once.
I'm sure you know what a formidable actor Ken Ogata is, and...
...I wanted to be caught off guard the first time I saw him in character as Musashi.
That way I wouldn't have any idea how he wouId approach me.
So that was something I was really looking forward to...
...until the day I met the actor, Ken Ogata.
...I had no idea how he wouId charge me with his swords.
And I think it worked out, not communicating.
I think it really added to the tension of the scene. That's why I didn't talk to him.
It was like, ''Good morning, everyone,'' and then ''WOW! Oh my God!''
He had completely taken over the role of Musashi, in looks and aura.
I thought, ''Jubei Yagyu could actually lose to this guy!''
Of course, Mr. Fukasaku had a lot of passion for this scene as well.
But on top of that, the actor I had to play against was...
...such an actor of high caliber.
So I was on edge all day, the whole time we were shooting that battle.
Well, aside from the dramatic impact, when I finally banished Musashi's spirit...
...I knew that I'd done the right thing by not meeting him.
Because it enabled me to show Jubei's desperation...
...how desperately he needed to kill this man.
There was also the element of fear. Jubei's fear in taking on a ghost...
...and not just any ghost, but the ghost of a great warrior, Musashi Miyamoto...
...whom he absoluteIy had to strike down.
It was an incredible scene.
I consider ''Samurai Reincarnation'' to be one of the...
...top three samurai films of all time.
I really enjoyed making that film.