Japanese Films That Influenced Quentin Tarantino

Tokyo Weekender

21-05-2025

On this day in 1994,
Pulp Fiction
premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The winner of the Palme d'Or that year, it was seen as an instant classic.
Quentin Tarantino
reportedly wrote part of the script for the movie at a hotel in Yubari, Hokkaido Prefecture. He was in town to take part in the
Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival,
which he later honored in
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
by naming Chiaki Kuriyama's character Yubari.
The iconic filmmaker's love of Japanese cinema has been well documented. He has cited his respect for several directors from this country, including the likes of Akira Kurosawa, Seijun Suzuki, Shinya Tsukamoto, Takeshi Kitano and Takashi Miike to name but a few. A number of Japanese films have influenced him and his work, particularly the two
Kill Bill
movies. We thought we'd have a look at seven of them.
List of Contents:
Sanjuro, Akira Kurosawa
Tokyo Drifter, Seijun Suzuki
Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41, Shunya Ito
Lady Snowblood, Toshiya Fujita
The Street Fighter: Shigehiro Ozawa
Shogun Assassination: Robert Houston and Kenji Misumi
Battle Royale: Kinji Fukasaku
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Sanjuro, Akira Kurosawa
Kurosawa's influence can be seen in several of Tarantino's films. For instance, the '
Rashomon effect
' style of storytelling that got its name from Kurosawa's 1950 classic
Rashomon
is evident in the contradictory accounts of the off-screen heist in
Reservoir Dogs
(1992). There are also several similarities in terms of structure and style between
Yojimobo
(1961) and Tarantino's revisionist Western film,
Django Unchained
(2012).
Sanjuro
(1962), a loose sequel to
Yojimbo
, is another Kurosawa film that inspired Tarantino, particularly the final battle between the titular character and Hanbei. When Sanjuro slices Hanbei, it's supposed to lead to a small, continuous flow of blood. However, a broken prop blood-filled compressor hose meant the blood gushed out at once. Kurosawa was pleased with how it looked, and geysers of blood have since become a hallmark of Tarantino movies.
Tokyo Drifter, Seijun Suzuki
In an interview with
Tomohiro Machiyama
in 2003, Tarantino compared Suzuki to Russ Meyer, stating that it's 'easier to like sections of his films than the whole movie.' One example is
Tokyo Drifter
(1966), which though unconventional and, at times, incomprehensible, is visually stunning. The gangster walk at the beginning of the film is similar to the iconic scene from
Reservoir Dogs
.
Suzuki's postmodern and hyper stylized approach to the gangster genre in
Tokyo Drifter
had a significant influence on Tarantino's earlier films such as
Reservoir Dogs
and
Pulp Fiction.
The two
Kill Bill
movies also incorporate elements from
Tokyo Drifter
, such as the exaggerated fight scenes, dazzling colors and go-go music. Another Suzuki movie that Tarantino drew inspiration from, particularly for
Kill Bill: Vol. 2
, was
Branded to Kill.
Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41, Shunya Ito
Due to the increasing popularity of television and an influx of Hollywood movies, the Japanese film industry was struggling in the late 1960s. Feeling that sex and violence could help turn things around, Toei Film Studios began to focus on movies that combined the two. Known as 'Pinky Violence,' these femme-fatale exploitation flicks exploded in the 1970s, and Tarantino is known to be a huge fan.
For
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
, he drew from several films of the era, including Shunya Ito's
Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41
(1972) and Norifumi Suzuki's
Sex and Fury
(1973). The former, the second film of a four-part series, stars Meiko Kaji as Matsu (nicknamed Scorpion) who's been compared to Beatrix 'the Bride' Kiddo. Kaji's track, 'Urami Bushi' from
Female Convict Scorpion
plays in the final credits of
Kill Bill: Vol 2
.
Lady Snowblood, Toshiya Fujita
Another Kaji track, 'Shura no Hana,' plays over O-Ren's death in
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
. It was the theme song of Toshiya Fujita's
Lady Snowblood
(1973), one of Japan's great postwar revenge films that was seen as a template for Tarantino's hyper-violent action flick released more than a quarter of a century later. Both O-Ren and the Bride share similar traits to Kaji's character, Yuki Kashima.
O-Ren is a visual manifestation of Yuki, while the Bride is the reincarnation of her spirit. Like the protagonist from
Lady Snowblood
, she is a highly skilled martial artist on a mission to hunt down and kill those responsible for her suffering. The climactic battle scene in the snow between O-Ren and the Bride in the first
Kill Bill
also mirrors Yuki's clash with Kobue at the end of Fujita's film.
The Street Fighter: Shigehiro Ozawa
Aside from Kaji, the Japanese actor that intrigued Tarantino the most from the 70s was
Sonny Chiba
. The acclaimed director was particularly impressed with his performances in
The Street Fighter
(1974) and its two sequels. Writing the screenplay for Tony Scott's cult classic,
True Romance
(1993), Tarantino pays homage to the actor through Clarence (Christian Slater), who describes him as 'bar none, the greatest actor working in martial arts movies today.'
The action scenes in
Kill Bill
are similar to those in
The Street Fighter
series and
The Bodyguard
(1973), another 70s martial arts flick starring Chiba. Jules' famous Ezekiel 25:17 speech in
Pulp Fiction
is taken almost word for word from the prologue of the latter. Chiba played Hattori Hanzo in
Kill Bill
, a nod to his character in the 1980s series
Shadow Warriors
, Tarantino's favorite Japanese TV show.
Shogun Assassination: Robert Houston and Kenji Misumi
Lone Wolf and Cub
was a 1970s Kazuo Koike manga series that was adapted into six films. In 1980, Robert Houston compiled 12 minutes of the first movie and most of the second — both directed by Kenji Misumi — to create
Shogun Assassin
. The film's non-linear narrative and stylized violence influenced Tarantino, who adopted a similar style in several of his movies, including
Pulp Fiction
and
The Hateful Eight
(2015).
The Tarantino film
Shogun Assassin
influenced the most, though, was
Kill Bill
. The protagonists in the films — Ogami Itto and the Bride — are fearless parents with incredible martial arts skills who have both suffered severe hardship and are driven by revenge. In
Kill Bill: Vol. 2
, the Bride's 4-year-old daughter, B.B, requests
Shogun Assassin
to watch as a bedtime story. Ogami's 4-year-old son, Daigoro, provides the voice-over narration.
Battle Royale: Kinji Fukasaku
From the Crazy 88-like yakuza gang in
Black Lizard
(1968) to the
Reservoir Dogs
-esque gritty realism of
Battles Without Honor and Humanity
(1973), Kinji Fukasaku's films had a major impact on Tarantino. One of his favorites was
Battle Royale
(2000), the last movie fully directed by Fukasuku. 'If there's any movie that's been made since I've been making movies that I wish I'd made, it's that one,' Tarantino once
said
.
The character that left the biggest impression on Tarantino was Chigusa. She was played by Kuriyama, who he cast as Gogo Yubari in
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
in what was a direct homage to Chigusa. The two characters are involved in some gruesome scenes and both stab men directly through the crotch. Other violent films Tarantino drew inspiration from during that era were Takashi Miike's
Audition
(1999) and
Ichi the Killer
(2001).
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