is a 1956 Japanese film directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and starring Toshirō Mifune. Shot in Eastmancolor, it is the third and final film of Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy. The film is adapted from Eiji Yoshikawa's novel Musashi, originally released as a serial in the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, between 1935 and 1939. The novel is loosely based on the life of the famous Japanese swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi. The preceding two parts of the trilogy are Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954) and Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955). Plot Miyamoto abandons his life as a knight errant. He's sought as a teacher and vassal by the Shogun, Japan's de facto leader. He is also challenged to fight by the supremely confident and skillful Sasaki Kojiro. Miyamoto agrees to fight Sasaki in a year's time but rejects the Shogun's patronage, choosing instead to live on the edge of a village, raising vegetables. He's followed there by Otsu and later by Akemi, both in love with him. The year ends as Miyamoto assists the villagers against a band of brigands. In the large city of Edo in Japan, Sasaki kills multiple men in a battle in the street. The commotion resulting from the battle in the street garners the attention of Miyamoto who is nearby in the city. Miyamoto leaves his room to see what has occurred and notices the dead men in the street as well as a note from Sasaki claiming responsibility for the killing. Sasaki and Miyamoto eventually meet one another and agree to a fight. However, on the day the fight is planned, Miyamoto decides to delay the fight for a year. During this year before the fight, Sasaki becomes acquainted with the upper class, while Miyamoto begins farming near a small village. Miyamoto seeks Otsu's forgiveness and accepts her love, then sets off across the water to Ganryu Island for his final contest. Sasaki also travels to Ganryu Island for their fight. During this fight, Miyamoto kills Sasaki and is victorious. However, Miyamoto is unhappy about killing Sasaki, calling him "the greatest swordsman" he ever encountered, and silently mourns for him. Production The film Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island, made in 1956, came after the end of the Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. Following World War II “the Allied occupation initially restricted films promoting feudal values, putting the kibosh on this most Japanese of