Throne of Death Akira Kurosawa\'s

Throne of Death

Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood is more than just an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. The film is a visual feast with riddled rich symbolism. It is that symbolism that makes Throne of Blood so memorable. In the film, Washizu and Miki are samurai warriors and friends who stumble upon a witch in the woods. The witch seduces Miki and especially Washizu with delusions of grandeur and kick starts the theme of ambition and hubris that guides the story. Tightly based on Shakespeare's Macbeth, Throne of Blood also includes the strong female character Asaji, who is modeled after Lady Macbeth. Asaji is a creepy figure in the movie who appears like the witch on-screen with her white makeup and robes. Therefore, Throne of Blood has a somewhat misogynistic tone that portrays females as socially subservient and spiritually evil. Crescent moon symbols combined with frequent intrusions from the natural world imbue Throne of Blood with pagan symbolism and supernatural elements. Kurosawa succeeds in solidifying this eerie atmosphere by transforming one of Shakespeare's most disturbing tragedies into high cinema.

Throne of Blood is filmed in black and white, which itself symbolizes the difference between good and evil. Kurosawa investigates other dichotomies in the film to underscore the significance of using black and white. One of the most notable dichotomies in Throne of Blood is between the mundane and the supernatural worlds; another is between the realm of humans and the realm of nature. These dichotomies are explored in depth, creating the tension that underlies the entire movie. During the climax when Cobweb Forest moves to Cobweb Castle, both sets of opposites converge. In that scene, the natural world (the forest) intersects directly with the human world (the warriors). Moreover, the frightening scene fulfills the witch's last prophesy for Washizu: illustrating the intersection thread that connects the supernatural (the witch and her ability to see the future) and the mundane (Washizu's ego). The line between dream and reality is also explored in Throne of Blood, especially in the scenes with the witch. After their first encounter with her, Washizu and Miki sit down together and muse about how the experience seemed like a dream. Likewise, the line is blurred between the conscious and unconscious mind. Before he starts his killing spree, Washizu acts mainly from conscious and mostly rational decisions. Later, he seems fueled by his unconscious mind.

Filming in black and white also suggests the moral choices between good and evil. Washizu seems incapable of distinguishing between good and evil, symbolized by the mist that clouds his vision at several points in the film. He had once remained loyal to his best friend and to his Lord. Until Asaji poisons his mind and suggests that Miki is plotting against him, Washizu's moral choices are sound. Later his choices are clouded by delusional thoughts and the central character descends into a spiral of murder, madness, and mayhem. Ironically, the witch and Asaji are both shrouded in white, which is usually a color symbolizing purity and goodness. Asaji is the most directly evil character in Throne of Blood. Her white face and clothing do not symbolize purity as much as they signify the thematic connection between her character and the witch. The witch appears bathed in white light, which emphasizes her otherworldliness. Neither good nor evil, the witch simply tells Washizu what she sees. It is Asaji who tells Washizu how he should act. Both the witch and Asaji influence Washizu and sway him from one moral pole to the other.

Washizu's impotence is also a symbol of the film. His wife becomes pregnant but delivers a stillborn, which leaves the protagonist without an heir. Without an heir he would have passed on his title to Miki's son. Yet Washizu loses his ability to make decisions independent of Asaji's influence. Buckling into her lust for power, Washizu seems stunningly weak and without resolve. That more than his ego or his personal ambition are what cause him to become so murderous.

Murder is the central theme of Throne of Blood and Kurosawa peppers the film with symbols suggesting death. For example, at the start of the film and at its end we see a large wooden gravestone for Cobweb Castle. Blood serves as a corresponding symbol of death. The bloodstained walls in the room are a visual reminder of treachery. Similarly, Washizu's title is built on a "throne of blood," earned not by his valor but by his treachery. Blood symbolizes the spilling of the life force, and it is significant that Washizu sleeps in the same room as his predecessor traitor. Equally as significant is the "out damned spot" scene, in which Asaji compulsively washes her hands in the basin to remove the marker of murder that stains her soul. This scene also humanizes her, which allows Kurosawa to explore the three-dimensionality of the Lady Macbeth character. If she was just evil, Asaji would not have had a conscience at all. Her stillborn child is also a concrete symbol of death. A stillborn baby represents a dead womb: the lifelessness at the heart of Asaji's character and the impotence she shares with her husband.

Storms and weather offer other symbols. The mist symbolizes blindness and being lost. Cobweb Forest is frequently referred to as a "labyrinth," which also symbolizes confusion and getting lost. Spider imagery is central to Throne of Blood. We first see the witch spinning thread: a spider's act. She also sits behind a cocoon-like shroud in the center of the forest, suggesting that she is the spider who weaves the web. Her connection to the fates also evokes a connection with Greek mythology, because the Greek Fates were spinners. Fate and its immutability is a central theme of Throne of Blood. Washizu seems to have the choice between good and evil because he could have chosen to not listen to Asaji. However, the witch seemed to know that the temptation would be too great for the samurai. His fate was in fact to be weak and easily misled. Asaji is also a spider-like creature in Throne of Blood. She slithers around in robes that make her look like a maggot. Moreover, she is often shown sitting calmly: a spider waiting to catch its pray in her web of lies. Like a spider, Asaji does not actually kill but lures victims to their own death. When Washizu dies, he is assaulted with a cloud of arrows so thick it is as if he is being wrapped up tightly in the spider's silk.

Animals are strong symbols in Throne of Blood. Horses symbolize untamed desire and being out of control. For instance, right before Miki dies a white horse runs madly around the courtyard. This symbolizes Washizu being out of control with his killing spree. Furthermore, death is often associated with a pale horse. Birds are evocative symbols in the film. In fact, many of the characters perceive birds as "bad omens." Immediately before he kills Lord Tsuzuki, Washizu is visited by a cawing crow. Toward the end of the film, a Hitchcok-esque scene with a cacophony of birds provides foreboding sounds and imagery. Washizu's willingness to tempt fate and his delusional belief that he can change fate is encapsulated in the scene in which he claims that the swarm of birds are actually a "good omen."