The most famous Kagemusha incident in Japanese history is actually Tokugawa Ieyasu. There is even an argument that the Kagemusha of Tokugawa Ieyasu was the last to establish the shogunate, not himself.
Japan's Warring States Period was an era of feudal conservative, but offending. On the one hand, many warriors strictly abide by the principle of loyalty to the emperor. On the other hand, there are frequent occurrences of the servants killing the weak lord and the son expelling the father.
In the final analysis, it is a conflict between ideals and beliefs. Power is too concentrated. Once a very centripetal lord dies, a power vacuum will immediately occur in the territory, and the strength of the country is closely related to the ability of the heirs. Therefore, if the wrong heir is appointed, some will be overthrown by the courtiers, and some will be replaced by his brothers. , And some were wiped out by other countries.
Such examples abound. Kenshin Uesugi overthrew his brother’s occupation of Echigo, and Shingen Takeda drove away his father Nobuura Takeda and became the lord with the help of his ministers. Uesugi Kenshin’s heir, Uesugi Kenshin, and Takeda Shingen’s heir, Katsuyori Takeda, are actually people with a certain degree of talent, but they are not like the heroes of the world like his father. Although they are supported by his retainers, no matter he is as wise, no matter he is supported by his retainers, Still as reckless as Shenglai, in the Warring States era when the wolves were looking around, he still couldn't maintain his power.
Even more serious, once the lord died, the empire was immediately overthrown. In the most powerful empires of the Japanese Warring States period, this is all the case: Imagawa Yoshimoto, Takeda Shingen, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi... When they were alive, they stood at the pinnacle of the power of Japan, but once they died, The country was in decline immediately, power was divided, and none of its heirs had a good end.
The Takeda family in the film shoots a story in such a context.
The fate of Takeda Shingen
Takeda Shingen is a very talented and very friendly leader. Entering Beijing, also known as Shangluo, was an act made when Japan’s big name proclaimed that it could dominate the country. The daimyo who enters the capital will bring his army into the capital. However, no one thought that Shingen Takeda died of illness on the way. A generation of big names, who would have thought that an anonymous pawn would be killed by the gun? The reason was that he was curious and wanted to listen to the flute of Gaoshan God City. Naturally, he himself did not think of it, and his retainers were also shocked. Even his opponents Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu could not believe it-how could a generation of heroes be so unclear? So the gunman at the time was asked to reinterpret the situation that day, but he was still skeptical. When Oda Nobunaga finally confirmed the news of Shingen's death, he couldn't help but sing:
Life is
like a dream or an illusion in fifty years .
There is life but death,
what regrets the strong man.
Nobunaga sighed not only about Takeda Shingen's ability, even after his death, he was still daunting, but also the impermanence of fate that caused a person to collapse at the pinnacle of power. With Takeda Shingen's sudden death, his own time has come so unexpectedly. Perhaps what he never expected was that he was also reaching the peak of his life. When he was under one person and above ten thousand people, he was suddenly set ambush by his most respected subordinate, Mitsuhide Aichi, and died in Hongan Temple together with his love child Moriran Maru.
Shingen Takeda was calm and majestic throughout his life, imaginary, thoughtful, and contemplated for thousands of miles. From the dialogue between him and Shanxian Changjing, it can be seen that war and the current situation are a confident game for him. He has sufficient confidence to reach the peak of power. When the opponent plays the flute in front of the formation, stabilizes his morale and lures his opponent, he is very curious, what kind of flute sound is this, and what kind of interesting psychological tactics?
Is this a carelessness? He found a somewhat hidden corner in the darkness and sat down to listen to the flute. Isn't it safe? Who would have thought that a small soldier would be shot and killed?
His character determines that he will definitely do this. If he were not a warmonger with such a cute curiosity, he would not have so many like-minded retainers to follow to the death, and he would not become the tiger of Kai. Takeda Shingen.
The fate of Takeda retainers
Since Takeda Shingen is such a great leader, the biggest characteristic of Takeda's territory is the strong relationship between the monarch and the minister, and even the loyalty. When he was born, every soldier, even his son Takeda Katsuyori who yearned for power, dare not violate his dying wish: not to send troops for three years. Why not send troops for three years? Can troops be dispatched after three years? Why do you lose if you send troops, and you can defend your territory if you don’t send troops? How can I maintain my advantage without sending troops? Shingen Takeda did not explain when he was still alive, but his courtiers followed his will without any doubt, and pinned the future completely in the imaginary of a dead lord.
why?
Is it because they only respect Takeda Shingen alone? Is it because only Takeda Shingen's orders can unite them? No, they may not even think about why, because loyalty to the Lord's will is their value orientation. This is their deep-rooted obsession. When Tokugawa Ieyasu came to attack, or other generals betrayed, they did not dare to rush in—since there is the Lord’s order, whether it is life or death, the value of our existence is only to follow the Lord. "We must first know whether Tokugawa Ieyasu's invasion is a full-scale offensive or a test!" Their logic is: All-out war must meet the enemy, otherwise the power will not be able to keep it. If it is tentative, it is unnecessary to lose one or two towns. Raise the grass and startle the snake.
But Shingen Takeda only gave them a three-year agreement. After three years, they had to face the embarrassment of losing their lord. Not only did they have to face the fact that the lord had passed away, but also because they didn’t know what to do next...
So, when the three-year period came, they heard that Takeda Katsuyai came, and he again Leading us to lay down the Gaotian God City, naturally is our new master. He wants to launch a war against Tokugawa Ieyasu, facing Nobunaga and Ieyasu's coalition forces, even if he knows that there is no chance of victory, even if he knows that his country is about to perish, he will desperately rush forward. Death is worthless——In their view, the value of living is to follow the lord, and the lord dies. What I am busy all day is not how to rejuvenate the country, but how to make the Kagemusha decently play the role of the lord. The majesty and orders are maintained.
What must be clarified here is that all the above are just situations created in the movie. Historically, Takeda Katsuyai did not abide by the three-year agreement and sent troops blindly. Moreover, after Xinxuan's death, he also immediately gained power, and he rejected several elders. The old officials such as Changjing of Shanxian County died in the battle, not blindly obeying, but as a last resort, the death was very heroic. Of course, they also have their loyal side.
What kind of character they are is not important anymore. It is their value orientation that determines their destiny-the master will prosper, then the minister will prosper; if the master will die, the minister will die. There are no accidents in the fate of courtiers, but orders.
But do they really have no ideas of their own? I think Takeda Katsuyori is actually very representative-Katsuyai imagines every day that he can gain power and survive according to his own will. When the officials laughed in front of Kagemusha's jokes, Katsuyai was the only one who squeezed. Face. The reason why he is the only one to change is because when the lord dies, his role has been changed, and he has to think about what he should do when he becomes the lord.
But he dared not do it, fearing the opposition of other family elders, and awe of his father's death. So this formed a kind of political environment, did the other people always have the idea of going against the Lord’s last wishes? There will be more or less, right? But they also dare not, because they do not have such a status, nor do they have the ability to freely control their subordinates-they will bear the notoriety of infidelity, and they will be resisted by their peers.
Katsuyori swallowed his breath for three years in such an environment. Even if he had captured the mountain god city, he still couldn't get rid of his father's shadow. Honda Tadaka just saw Takeda Shingen's shadow warrior and gave up reinforcements. Therefore, once he becomes the lord, the first thing is to prove his ability to the officials, get rid of his father's decision, and immediately attack the enemy. Only in this way can everyone respect him without respecting his father, and he can overcome the curse of loyalty in his heart.
Therefore, when the Kagemusha came to Takeda Shingen's residence, only Takemaru and Kuroyunju dared to admit their doubts. How could other people have no doubts? How could Lord Lord’s behavior be exactly the same as before? Believe that the idea of "this is a substitute" not only exists among spies, but also circulates among ministers, right? However, what made other courtiers believe that it was Takeda Shingen in front of him and gave up his life to protect him, in addition to Takeda Shinren's good intentions, and their bones did not dare to openly question the authenticity of the lord. Once this balance is broken, it will be desperate at light and the country will be destroyed if it is heavy. As a result, everyone played with Kagemusha for three years. When the concubine did not realize that the Kagemusha was not scarred by Takeda Shingen, she exclaimed, "Is he really a stand-in?" A single sentence revealed everyone's thoughts: We had already doubted it! Yes, the lord has not recovered yet and cannot ride a horse. The lord has not recovered and cannot share the bed. Can’t it be done for one day, not for three years?
Until one day, when the shadow warrior increasingly regarded himself as Takeda Shingen, and wanted to try to ride the black cloud horse, he was thrown off by the black cloud horse very white purpose. Everyone's dream of loyalty was shattered. As a result, everyone in the dark was deceived and driven away the Kagemusha. They believed that their self-esteem was hurt, and they vented all the feelings of losing their lordship on the Kagemusha, as if the Kagemusha had taken away the lord who had always been in awe from them.
No matter what kind of life they have, when they become a part of the politics of this country, the only choice for them is to be loyal to the emperor. The lord is a symbol of the country. When the lord is destroyed, the country is also destroyed, and the ministers have only one way of loyalty and death.
The fate of the Takeda Empire
A country has reached its peak, but with a bullet, under the disguise of a vain appearance, it sings and dances in a precarious manner for three years, and then collapses overnight. Is this accidental? Is it because Takeda Shingen is too strong and Takeda Katsuyori is too weak? If this is the case, why do the same stories emerge endlessly in the history of the Warring States Period in Japan?
Shingen Takeda is dead, and the Kagemusha is also exposed. For the empire, it is not only a strategic change, but also a vacuum of power. How can this power be maintained? Takeda Katsuyori does not have the prestige of his father. He is not even the real heir. His son Takeda Nobuyoshi has no original clothes. He has only played around his grandfather and has never fought a war. How can he deal with major national affairs? However, the state apparatus of the Takeda Empire revolves around the lord, and everything is transferred by the lord's will.
When the lord is a stable military strategist, everyone is like a knife in the lord's hand, overcoming obstacles and invincible. When the lord was a fierce butcher, everyone was like a meatloaf he threw out, acting as cannon fodder under the guns of Nobunaga and Ieyasu's coalition forces.
This is the political system and culture of the Takeda Empire and even the various countries of the Japanese Warring States Period.
Was the fall of the Takeda Empire accidental? Is it special? It could have become the center of Japan with Takeda Shingen's successful entry into Beijing, but it was a pity that accidental incident. But not accidentally, as long as Takeda Shingen passed away, no matter how powerful the empire was, even if the difference in abilities between Takeda Shingen and Takeda Katsuyori was not that big, it would still leave a power vacuum and it would be impossible to control the surrounding situation.
The shadow warrior's destiny
stand-in, the shadow warrior, call him whatever he wants. His real name is no one cares about, and it doesn't matter at all. He didn't even mention him. Everyone only remembered him as a sign. When he played Takeda Shingen, everyone regarded him as the lord, and when his role failed, everyone called him just a stand-in.
But he is a person with his own character and ideas.
Here I can’t help but want to sigh with Nakadai Tatsuya’s superb performance, which not only shows Takeda Shingen’s solemnity and affinity to the fullest, but also shows the psychological activities of the shadow warriors, even whether it is the shadow warrior who has gone from panic to pretentious calm on the battlefield, and Takeda Shingen's true calmness, as well as the pretentious posture of the Kagemusha and the deep and steady attitude of Takeda Shingen when thinking, are just right. His big eyes are full of drama.
Kagemusha was a free man at the beginning, and he only wanted to die freely, but when he saw a god-like person like Takeda Shingen, he was immediately attracted by his prestige-pretending to be such a person, maybe he is very proud of it. ? But at first he did not become a part of this sacred empire, playing the lord itself is not an act that requires "loyalty", so he did not think about becoming Takeda Shingen, nor did he feel the respect he received, all he thought about was Do some petty thefts and get a chance to get a big prize and escape. This is his character, which is what he thinks he should have-a humble life.
However, the gears of fate completely changed the trajectory of his life.
Suddenly one day, he could no longer be himself. If he did himself, he would be cast aside and despised by everyone, forcing him to return to Takeda Shingen. Of course he didn’t want this, but Takeda Shinren said to him, “I sometimes imagine being myself, but it’s no longer possible. Sometimes I wonder if my thoughts are a little bit selfish...” What is depicted is the mental state of a shadow warrior.
How did he make up his mind to become a shadow warrior?
Perhaps it was inspired by the faith of his retainers. He broke the earthen jar that sealed the lord, exposing the mentality of wanting to steal something and escape, but the retainer did not kill, perhaps he could not bear to see the lord die again, and if there is no such shadow warrior, it means that the lord will be exposed. The news that he had passed away, so they decided to let him go. Watching these courtiers hold hands for a long time on the shore to bid farewell to Takeda Shingen, the heart of this shadow warrior was shocked-shocked that Takeda Shingen was such a great person and could get it. The admiration of so many amazing people is shocked by their unity, loyalty, and generosity towards themselves. So he was determined to change his mind and do his best to help them maintain this empire.
Takeda Shinren is a good teacher. From the beginning of the film, he and Takeda Shingen have said that I have been your shadow fighter for so long, and our actions are very similar. At first he still had difficulty changing some of his own vices, but when he was thinking about Takeda Shingen in front of the waiters, the waiters were really like seeing his lord. This is why he was able to live in Takeda Mansion for three years. Despite the doubts of the people around him, he persevered.
Moreover, as he became accustomed to the admiration of the people around him, even the little man he had never seen in the past, sat in the middle of the battlefield and frightened Honda Tadao, this kind of complacency naturally increased day by day, as if he had forgotten acting. The curtain will eventually come to an end. Shingen Takeda only promised for three years. If the Kagemusha did not accidentally expose himself, would others declare that the lord was dead?
This is a difficult question to answer. Tokugawa Ieyasu's Kagemusha was able to persist until the end because he was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who also had an unparalleled status. However, Shingen Takeda’s Kagemusha is a pickpocket with no strengths. In the Takeda Empire, where the loyalty is strong and the family background status is strong, I think Kagemusha will gradually abandon him even if he does not expose himself-because the lord only said After three years, what to do after three years must be decided by a new lord - but it certainly won't be a stand-in whom they all look down on.
"The master is gone, and the shadow has no value for existence."
When a shadow warrior is no longer "Takeda Shingen", no one respects him anymore. Takeda Shingen's waiter immediately turned his face and stopped treating him as a relative because of his status. It was so low that he didn't even leave the umbrella to him-he just hesitated. Everyone seems to be performing a play, and now the song is over, and although there is some nostalgia, the result is inevitable, sooner or later.
And Kagemusha, this innocent person, when he increasingly regarded himself as Takeda Shingen and Shingen's grandson as his relatives, and gradually approached the peak of life, he was suddenly abandoned by everyone and continued to become a tramp. This kind of role change was imposed on him, and of course he would not be able to accept it—but there was no way.
When he saw those old family elders he knew desperately rushing into the enemy's fire, he was always in tears, trying to dissuade them but unable to do it-at this time, he was still "Takeda Shingen" in his heart, no I had the heart to watch them, who were foolish and loyal to the new lord, perish on their own, and couldn't bear to watch the empire be ruined so easily. He had never had the power to dominate them, but now he didn't even have the shelf to pretend to respond. He could only wave his hands hard in the grass, trying to pull them back from Huangquan Road. In the end, he picked up the gun and rushed like a samurai like the enemy’s front line-an enemy bullet gave him everything he had never imagined, but now he took everything from him-people he knew , The country he once "owned", the life he once enjoyed. When he fell in his pool of blood, he looked back and saw that everyone in the Takeda family had gone. It was as if the audience had already passed away before the end of the play.
Lonely, lonely, and desolate, for everything that didn't belong to him, he died like a hero, but no one would cherish and appreciate his sacrifice. Takeda Shingen died out of nowhere, but he was mourned by thousands of people.
Even if he is really possessed by Takeda Shingen, he is just a shadow. When the idol in people's hearts is no longer there, whatever he does is meaningless. He wants to be himself and wander around freely, but it is no longer possible.
From the beginning to the end, the film feels miserable and sad. It is not only the fall of superstars and the decline of great powers, but also the fate that makes people unable to help but feel sentimental. It is just that bullet. Everyone's fate will be pushed like a gear in the future, unable to escape and irreversible.
As for the soldier, we don't know whether his fate has changed, but the fate is so coincidental that such a clever soldier like him saw the Takeda Army building a viewing platform. He was careful and bold, and in one fell swoop he changed the fate of many people and also changed the history of the Japanese Warring States period.
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