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Steve P’s Journey Through Kill Bill was originally written for and published on Genrebusters. Part 3 and 4 are reposted on Playtime by permission of the author. You can catch up on the Journey: Part 1 and 2 here.

Part 3 - Chapter 3: The Origin Of O-Ren

Chapter Three begins with the Bride informing the audience that O-Ren Ishii witnessed her parents’ murders (at the age of nine) at the hands of a yakuza boss named Matsumoto. The film switches from live-action to anime; flashing back in time, we witness the young O-Ren hiding under a bed as her father (a soldier in the US Army) kills two hitmen with his bare hands in defense of his family. Unfortunately, his luck doesn’t last and he is slain by a third hitman. The killer relishes his victory by making every fatal wound that he inflicts last as long as he can. During this sequence, we hear a symphonic/operatic piece of music which casually gives way to a Leone-esque piece of western-styled music as the hitman cleans his sword. And then the soundtrack switches back to the operatic piece as Boss Matsumoto kills O-Ren’s mother with the sword. He thrusts the sword down into the bed and narrowly avoids O-Ren’s head. We see the look of sorrow on young O-Ren’s face as she knows that both of her parents are now dead. As a viewer, I truly felt pity for her. Never mind what she would go on to do later in life; at that point, she was just a little girl who had just lost her parents to a cold-hearted killer.

As the men leave, the sword-wielding hitman who killed O-Ren’s father ignites a fire which engulfs the (now) former home of O-Ren Ishii–the Leone-esque music once again playing . We are treated to a tragically beautiful shot of the young girl as she watches her house burn down with the dead bodies of her parents inside. The Bride’s narration resumes and informs us that O-Ren unsurprisingly swore revenge upon Boss Matsumoto. The Bride goes on to say (and I quote) “Fortunately for her, Boss Matsumoto was a pedophile.” ¹

Two years later, O-Ren achieves her revenge by killing the Yakuza don in a very compromising position. And as she kills him, she makes sure that he knows who she is and why she chose to kill him. She then literally covers the walls of his room with his blood as it sprays from his mortal wound. Two of his lackeys arrive shortly thereafter and she dispatches them effortlessly.

After that, the Bride’s narration informs the audience that by age twenty, O-Ren was one of the world’s top female assassins. ² Upon learning this fact, we witness one of O-Ren’s kills as she shoots a man in a limo while on a rooftop from almost a mile away.

The Bride goes on to tell us that at age twenty-five, O-Ren was part of a wedding massacre in El Paso, Texas in which nine people died. (Hmmm. That sounds familiar…) As she tells us this we are shown the tail end of the massacre, when the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad physically assaulting the Bride, in the anime style. And as the film shows O-Ren delivering a brutal flying roundhouse kick to the Bride, our narrator practically growls that “she should have killed ten.” The screen goes black as the Bride casually states, “however, before satisfaction would be mine, first things first.”

We then return to the present as well as the live-action format as the Bride is still sitting in Buck’s truck and still trying to will her big toe to wiggle. At last, both the Bride and the audience see the digit in question wiggle. With a slight smile on her face, she tells herself that the hard part is over ³ Thirteen hours later, she gets out of the back seat and walks to the front seat, gets in, and drives the car out of the parking garage–the camera never leaving her feet.

The very next thing we see is an Air-O employee standing behind an airline ticket counter. The Bride, appearing to be in very good health, purchases a one-way ticket to Okinawa, Japan and we are treated to the classic animation of a plane icon being shown flying from Point A (America) to Point B (Okinawa) on a globe as the third chapter comes to an end. Personally, I love that method of showing travel on film. And Tarantino gives it a very whimsical feel with his choice of music.

I don’t know about anyone else, but that O-Ren Ishii is one fierce little gal; she did some serious damage when she was only 11, and she just grew more ruthless as time went on. Definitely not someone you’d want to cross. ⁴ Tarantino does an excellent job of setting up her character by showing her to be a tragic figure much like the Bride. In fact, I think Tarantino could have made an entire film detailing the life and quest for revenge of O-Ren Ishii, instead of the Bride. ⁵ And the animation which was skillfully composed by Production I.G. was beautifully grotesque. This was a truly dark, yet captivating flashback segment in the “Kill Bill” saga that set things up nicely for the chapters that are yet to come.

Part 4 - Chapter 4: The Man From Okinawa

This is easily my favorite chapter of the entire Kill Bill saga. Why? Two words: Sonny Chiba (a.k.a. Shinichi Chiba). His screen presence is absolutely captivating. It was because of his powerful performance in this film that I picked up the first season DVD of his 1980’s ninja TV series “Shadow Warriors,.” ⁶ He is simply one of the greatest actors ever. But, I digress…

The fourth chapter begins with the Bride in the guise of an American tourist entering a sushi bar in Okinawa, Japan. She gets the Proprietor’s attention and he asks if she’s English. The Bride replies that she’s American and the man smiles and welcomes her. She replies with “domo” (thank you). Naturally he inquires as to whether or not she can speak Japanese. She lies, telling him with an innocent smile that she knows only a few other words. The way she speaks these words impresses the Proprietor and he compliments her and encourages her to learn Japanese.

In the midst of this conversation, the Proprietor is constantly yelling to his “Assistant” (played by Kenji Ohba) in the back to bring out tea as he is preparing sushi for the Bride. The Assistant only responds with back talk. But when he finally comes out, he’s very annoyed at having to work during his soap opera. This results in an amusing argument between The Proprietor and his Assistant about their places in the hierarchy of life and business–an argument that the proprietor wins by force.

As the Assistant goes into the back to get the Bride’s drink, the Proprietor resumes his sushi preparation and begins small talk with the Bride about the purpose of her journey to Okinawa. You can see that he’s only half-heartedly paying attention as she tells him that she’s there to see someone. He asks who and she quietly replies (in a perfect Japanese dialect) “Hattori Hanzo”. You hear the Assistant drop a glass as it shatters in the back room. The Proprietor, who upon hearing that name, stops cutting, slowly raises his head and stares with a wary, inquisitive look into the Bride’s unyielding and no longer playful gaze. With just the mention of that name, both of them have dropped all pretenses and they are both acutely aware of the weight that name carries. I was so impressed with Chiba’s portrayal of Hanzo’s emotional transformation in this scene. He went from an almost goofy sushi chef to a very solemn swordsmith with just a minute adjustment of his facial expression. It’s amazing to behold. I’ve watched and re-watched this scene a myriad of times and it never gets old.

The Proprietor, now revealed to be Hattori Hanzo–descendant of the leader of the honorable Iga ninja clan, who was also named Hattori Hanzo–asks her why she is looking for him. She replies that she needs Japanese steel to deal with a vermin problem.

He brings her up to a hidden sword storeroom where numerous beautiful katanas (all hidden within their ornate sheaths) are on display. She looks around like a kid in a candy store that’s filled with treats she could never afford. She comes to a stop at one rack of blades and she begins to reach out, but quickly pulls back her hand and turns to Hanzo, asking “May I?” Hanzo replies with “You may.” As she begins to reach for a sword again, Hanzo stops her and tells her to “Try the second one down.” She turns and lifts the specified sword from its display. As she pulls the sword from its sheath, you hear the blade sing.

Hanzo then makes a casual observation about her affinity for samurai swords before stating his affinity for baseball as he pulls a baseball from his pocket. The instant that he finishes speaking, he hurls the ball at the Bride. And she, in that same instant, slices it in half. If it had been anyone else, they would likely have been knocked unconscious. But Hanzo wasn’t attacking her. He was testing her and she knew it. And just watching these two performers play off each other like that was amazing to watch. That moment is the entirety of the action sequence in this chapter, but there’s so much that’s being said between these two just by their nonverbal language that you can’t help but be riveted to the screen.

He retrieves the sword from her and sheathes it before returning it to its place on his display. As he does this he explains to her that if she knows as much as she does about him, then she should also know that he no longer makes swords and that the swords he has kept are not for sale. The Bride, unmoved by this comment, asks him to give her one. He asks why and she replies “Because my vermin is a former student of yours. And considering the student, I’d say you have a rather large obligation.” He thinks for a moment and his eyes see an old photo of their mutual acquaintance. In response to her question, he writes the name “Bill” on a dusty window and as he dots the “i”, he makes a diagonal slash. It was a small gesture, but that aesthetic touch really appealed to me.

As the realization of the vermin’s identity sinks in, Hanzo resigns himself to his impending task of making one more sword. He tells the Bride that she can sleep there. And as he makes his way out of the room, he informs her that it will take a month to make the sword, ending their discussion with “I suggest you spend it practicing”. The Bride then goes to the window and wipes Bill’s name from the window as the screen fades to black. Why did she do this? I’m not fully sure, but my gut says it’s because she didn’t want to be reminded of Bill and what he did to her. She knew why she was there and she knew that she had a long road ahead of her before she could confront Bill, so why get distracted?

The month passes and we see Hanzo in white ceremonial robes with his Assistant kneeling behind him in a white karate gi. In Hanzo’s hands is the sword that he has made for our heroine. Hanzo draws the magnificent sword from its beautiful sheath (as the Assistant takes the sheath without a word) and examines it carefully from every angle before declaring that he has broken his oath to God by making an object that kills. But he admits that he did it because he’s sympathetic to the Bride’s cause. As he returns the blade to its sheath, he tells her that it is his finest sword. And if she should encounter God in her travels, God will be cut. As he hands the weapon over to the Bride , also dressed in white ceremonial robes, he tells her to go. The Bride responds with a solemn “Domo” as the chapter ends. And you can truly feel the sincerity in her voice as she says the word. She knows that what Hanzo did was not easy, but she is truly appreciative of the gift he has given her.

There are so many things about the sword ceremony scene that appeal to me. The music is beautiful and once again perfectly matches the action of the scene. Zamfir’s “The Lonely Shepherd”, with its slow and haunting melody enhances the seriousness of the ceremony without detracting from the scene in any way. Tarantino never ceases to amaze me with his musical selections for this film.

I was intrigued by the Assistant’s presence at the ceremony. When we saw him earlier in the chapter, I never imagined that he had much to do with Hanzo’s swordmaking. Initially, I just assumed that he was a lazy waiter in the restaurant. But seeing how he behaved during the ceremony (never once so much as casting a defiant glance at Hanzo), it’s clear that the lazy waiter is merely an act in order to help sell the illusion of Hanzo as a sushi chef, much like Hanzo’s Assistant at the bath house in “Shadow Warriors.” In fact, it turns out that Ohba was in the third series of “Shadow Warriors” with Chiba. ⁷

I absolutely love how the scene was shot. During the ceremony, the camera never once left Chiba until his character had handed the sword to the Bride. Perhaps that was Tarantino’s choice in order to showcase the importance of the sword or perhaps it was his way of thanking Sonny Chiba for making the films and series that clearly had a huge affect on the filmmaker during his formative years. Whatever the case, Tarantino’s cinematography works perfectly for this scene.

Finally, the dialogue in this scene is so beautiful. Not a word of English is spoken. Every sentence, every phrase, every word of the sword ceremony is in Japanese with subtitles. But you almost don’t need to read the subtitles in order to follow what’s happening. All three performers masterfully manage to convey the importance of the scene as well as the events of it with just their physical performances. And that’s what acting is all about.

Despite its short length, this was simply an amazingly entertaining chapter as well as an important one to boot. With the sword in hand, you get the feeling that the Bride just got one step closer to achieving her ultimate goal. And you know that she’s thinking the same thing.

Continue on to Part 3&4…

Edited by Tracy McCusker.