Where was Takashi Shimura in this film? I DVR'd this a month or two ago and finally got to watch it tonight and don't remember seeing him at all. I am guessing he was probably in the opening scene during the play, since there was a large gathering there, but nobody I saw looked like him.
I looked for him too, but did not see him. He's prominent enough of an actor to have played a fairly important role - some kind of official, maybe? But, as far as I can tell, he did not appear at all, which makes me wonder if this movie doesn't have a bunch of deleted scenes.
Take for example the character Nanae, whom we see fairly early in the movie as sort of a "village idiot" girl. Komaki befriends her and defends her from the taunts of the kids and the townspeople, but later, as the story progresses, she never again appears. I suspect the movie had an assortment of cut or deleted scenes, which would explain Shimura, Nanae, and other inconsistencies in the film. Overall a good movie, but it did seem a little chopped here and there. Also, some of those battle scenes in the late middle part of the movie seemed stretched to fit the widescreen display, which makes me wonder if they weren't stock footage inserted later?
If there's a complete or "director's cut" version of this movie, I'd sure love to see it.
"I've always tried to teach you two things. First: Never let them see you bleed. Second: Always have an escape plan." - Q
Shimura is not in Aru kengo no shogai (Samurai Saga). The IMDb entry currently showing him in the cast is in error. He is not in any official record of the film including its production records. There is an actor who vaguely resembles Shimura in one scene, so probably someone has made a false presumption that it was he. I'm working to remove the listing.
Shimura's name has been removed.