It was originally an idea from a foreign company. They were thinking of making a program about samurai, but they wanted me to think about what else they could do or add to it. That was when the talk about Musashi Miyamoto started, and that was how this movie came about. I’ve always had interest in Musashi Miyamoto, so this work can be seen as my compilation of things that I’ve read and collected.

 

 

I’m interested in the Musashi Miyamoto that was different from the one that was portrayed historically. He excelled in swordsmanship, was a master of the arts, was religious… I was interested in all his opposites. He was someone who could do anything.

 

 

Of course, I want him to work on it properly, give it quality, and to definitely make a good movie. There’s no other director that I can trust to complete the work. When I pass on the work, there will always be some parts that I cannot convey, or some parts that I’ve never thought about, and it’s up to the director to express that. That’s why the work of a director is extremely necessary.

 

 

 

It’s ok to write final manuscript on the paper. If I wrote that it was the first draft, then there will be talk of having to write the second, or the third draft, right? When I write ‘final manuscript’ it just means that I won’t be making changes to it anymore. But whether it really ends up that way, that is up to the director and the producers.

 

 

We didn’t discuss. Nishikubo-san is not a man who discusses and that is why I entrusted it to him. I won’t work together with a director who keeps asking me about every single thing. I’m just looking forward to what kind of movie he has turned it into. That’s because I think he’s an extremely capable director and he’ll do a great job with it.

 

 

I think he’s an intellectual with an instinct for fighting. He’s definitely a smart person… but I don’t know if I want to be friends with him.

 

 

The business of being a director is all about lies…and the trick to it is how are you going to deceive them? I really love making up lies, and if I can spur talk on just how far is the movie true, then it’s fantastic. I always say that when it seems as if you’re having a laugh at something, you’re actually serious about it. I said that lies are usually made with a straight face.

 

However, I feel that there’s nothing to lie about with Musashi Miyamoto. I say that because the world is more likely to believe the lies anyway. Even if I said the truth, it would seem as a lie. If the truth gets believed as a lie, then everyone’s been deceived.