Kikuchiyo Follows the Samurai

In Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, a poor farming village faces constant rampages from the local bandits who leave them with hardly any food to survive. Desperate for relief, they hire samurai to defend their village and restore peace to their community. 

However, not all the samurai were handpicked for this mission. One in particular, Kikuchiyo, accompanied the band of samurai whether or not they wanted his assistance. In this scene from Seven Samurai, we see the moment Kikuchiyo follows the team despite their wishes.

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In context of the film

This scene takes place about an hour into the narrative. Six of the samurai have assembled and are traveling back to the village with the farmers who hired them. They walk along several trails and nature settings with Kikuchiyo tailing behind them. 

What Happens?

Throughout the scene, the samurai and farmers walk along paths, noticing Kikuchiyo's constant presence. He begins following them from a good distance away. Next, we see the group of samurai and farmers resting at the top of a waterfall. At the bottom, Kikuchiyo fishes with his bare hands. He shows off his catch of the day to the group above him before roasting it over a fire. Finally, the samurai and farmers walk through a forest and believe Kikuchiyo had given up. Then Kikuchiyo jumps out and tells them which way to go. The scene concludes with the group reaching the village. 

Kikuchiyo proudly shows his catch to the others.

Elements of the scene: 

Mis-en-scéne

One of the first qualities I noticed about this scene was the way in which it was staged. Kikuchiyo was always placed apart from the rest of the group. In the beginning, he is placed in the background. While he fishes, the traveling band is set on top of the waterfall above him. This quality of the scene adds to the already known fact that Kikuchiyo does not truly belong in the group of samurai. 

While the lighting was mostly the same throughout the scene, there is one shift I would like to call to attention. In the forest, the group is placed in lower lighting in the foreground of the frame. When Kikuchiyo jumps out, he stands in the one lighted area of the frame, calling even more attention to his character. 

Cinematography 

An obvious emphasis was placed on Kikuchiyo. He was the only character to have shots in which he was the only subject present. During the fishing sequence, there was a long follow shot on him with the other characters moving in and out of frame. And in the forest, a deep focus was placed on Kikuchiyo as he jumps out into the middle of the frame. 

Soundtrack

The music throughout this scene features a drum and flute that work together to make a very lighthearted and playful environment. Considering Kikuchiyo is the focus of this sequence, he even has a cowbell jingle that goes off when he jumps out before the samurai near the end. It almost reminds me of a clown horn that goes off when a clown enters a scene. 

The others noticing Kikuchiyo.

Why is this important?

Within two and a half minutes, Kikuchiyo's relationship with the rest of the samurai is firmly established. He will constantly live in this liminal space of the samurai class and the farmer's class. Even before we learn about his attempt to change castes, his outsider quality is made apparent. Since he lives between the two classes, he not only has the ability to be a rogue character who lives without class restrictions, but he also has the ability to point out the flaws among the samurai and the farmers.

From this one clip, we understand the importance of Kikuchiyo's character. Considering how much emphasis was placed upon him, we know that the glimpses of his merry nature, resourcefulness and stubbornness will become crucial later on in the film.