Young samurai Kojuro makes the long journey to Edo, accompanied by his spear-carrier, Gonpachi, and servant – both loyal to a fault. A little boy convinces the gruff Gonpachi to let him tag along and learn the way of the spear. He is the first of many colourful characters they meet along the way.

This masterful parable of anti-violence was made at the height of Japan’s postwar reconstruction by the great Tomu Uchida, a filmmaker who ought to be better known in the West. Taking John Ford’s Stagecoach as its starting point, if you can resist that title, you’re made of stronger stuff than us.