The Foreign Service Journal, March 2003

44 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A R C H 2 0 0 3 F O C U S O N P O W E L L n the cinematographic history of any coun- try there are some unforgettable characters who embody that society’s core cultural val- ues. Kambei, the leading character in Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece, “Seven Samurai” (1954) — a film that still influences direc- tors half a century after its release — is such a hero for the Japanese people. The veteran samurai, the central figure of this work of art, exquis- itely personifies the spirit of Bushido — the code of ethics of the samurai — which is still embraced and cherished by the Japanese nation. In the mind of many of my compatriots, Secretary of State Powell recalls, for various reasons, the image of this samurai leader. First of all, there is a striking resem- blance in the facial structures of Powell and Kambei (played by Takashi Shimura). More importantly, the two men’s personalities project similar val- ues. “Seven Samurai” is about some farmers, viciously and peri- odically raided by cruel bandits, who hire seven “ronin” (master- less) samurai to defend their village. The setting is Japan’s medieval Period of Warring States, an era marked by chaos, mistrust, cruelty, deceit and despair. Against this backdrop, the film portrays heroic human- ism underpinned by courage, justice, benevolence, honor, feal- ty and self-denial. The power and beauty of this masterpiece, some critics say, lie in the con- trast of the values of that histori- cal era with those held by the seven masterless (and therefore considered “losers” in those days) samurai, the movie’s heroes. These values are most fully exemplified in the taci- turn Kambei, their leader. Kambei survives the fierce battles with the bandits and successfully defends the farmers and their village, but four samurai are killed. “And again we lost,” says Kambei in the coda of the movie, one of the most moving and meditative single lines in modern Japanese cinematography. Kambei’s values are drawn from the code of ethics forged through such war-torn periods that recurred intermittently throughout Japan’s medieval history from around the tenth century until the nation was pacified under the Tokugawa Shogunate in the early 17th century. These values came to be known as Bushido, the Japanese version of chivalry. Powell and Kambei Why does Colin Powell remind us so much of Kambei? First of all, the world in which we now live is all too sim- ilar to the society inhabited by Kambei and the six other samu- rai in the film: one marked by chaos, violence and fear. The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and their aftermath, in particular, take us back to the pre-modern warring days of the film. At the very least, they remind us of the existence of medieval, Hobbesian elements in our post-modern, globalized world. Second, Powell’s personal background has clearly shaped a man of strong character. Born in Harlem, New York, to an immigrant family from Jamaica, I S ECRETARY P OWELL : A N A MERICAN S AMURAI ? I N THE MIND OF MANY J APANESE , C OLIN P OWELL RESEMBLES K AMBEI , THE CENTRAL CHARACTER IN K UROSAWA ’ S FILM “S EVEN S AMURAI .” B Y H IRO A IDA