1. Stray Dog
Akira Kurosawa's Film Noir
By: Daniel Potes
Film Noir is, for the most part, a western form of film making, with a history starting in France, moving to the
States and then being adopted by the western world as a whole. Western movies are known for their hard-boiled machismo
male leads and their romantic notions of the world. To close the gap even tighter, Film Noir is characterized by a
subversive male lead that pursues justice because of his machismo spirit, a strong Femme Fatale role
that acts to undermine the authority of the male lead, and a general malevolent undertone with grey
tones and dry witty humor. Akira Kurosawa's 1949 Film Stray Dog is the earliest form of japanese
Film Noir, with similar if not slightly more japanese versions of the same charactersistics of traditional
Film Noir.
The most immediately noticeable theme or charactersitic of Film Noir is the Subversion of the
Male authority, something that can be seen in almost any flm noir, especially ones with a strong
Femme Fatale. Toshiro Mifune plays the famous role of the newbie Japanese Police officer Murakami.
Starting out using symbolism and subtext to showase the feeling of the japanses male after World War
II Kurosawa films a stray dog panting in the sun for the opening title shot. This introductory subversion
of malehood has two meanings. The first is to showcase the futility of the male lead, and the second is
to mimic the panting lazy waiting of both Mifune and his pickpocket panting in the japanese heat.
One of the most famous modern Japanese photographs is based on this movie, in both title and
feeling. Daido Moriyama is a Japanese photographer that was born in post war Japan, molded by the
media that new japan made, Moriyama eventually took the photograph “Stray Dog”. This photograph

2. captures the feelings evoked by Kurosawa's film by showing a tired stray dog laying and panting in the
sun. Much like Shinjiro Yusa, the criminal in Stray Dog, a veteran whose life has been ruined by war
and poverty. Like the stray dog Kurosawa bases his character off of Yusa acts out of fear and hope for
a better life, a better life with the showgirl Harumi.
Harumi plays the role of a femme fatale as well, but not as powerfully as the pickpocket women
does, but like all Kurosawa characters, there is more than meets the eye with her. While at first
introduced as a showgirl dancer sweating and complaining in a dance house, she is soon brought to
tears and acts as a useless woman when questioned. In the later scene where they visit her house, her
terse responses to the police are a showcase of the individuality that post war industrialism left in
Japan. By trying to subvert the authority of the police officers, Harumi hopes to escape punishment, but
her own mother is the one that convices her to talk. By having a matriarchal role help keep this “femme
fatale” from falling into evil, the sanctity of innocence is kept.
In the dialogue at Harumi's house Mifune argues with Harumi about the dress that Yusa bought
her. Arguing that stealing and worse is the only way to have pretty things in Japan, by trying to justify
Yusa's eveil deeds with her own wants and needs she truly embodies the selfish americanized character
that most femme fatale's begin. Because Yusa got all of his belongings stolen when he arrived back
from war, Harumi says that he was changed, that loss of dignity and faith in Japan led him to become
the “Stray Dog” that he is. Countering this, Mifune says that the same thing happened to him, but
instead of turning towards evel, he decided to become a police officer to help put an end to theft and
other such evil deeds.
Furthering his subversion of authority, Toshiro the detective has his gun stolen in the very
beginning of the film by a woman. This starting crisis is the action that will lead the film into its final
point. Using impressive cinematic shots, such as the shot of Toshiro walking alone through the wide
shot of the field, Kurasawa showcases specific feelings, such as a loner or solitude. This feeling is more
than important when considering that Japanese cinema has been focused on male aspects since it's

3. inception. Akira Kurasawa is indeed on of the best Samurai film directors of all time.
The samurai culture has been prevalent in Japan since the first millenia, with an enormous focus
on a solely male oriented culture of Battle, Honor and Death. This Samurai code of life and honor is
called Bushido, originally used as the name for the “way of the horse and the bow” it became “the way
of the warrior”. This change from archer and horsemanship to warriors and frontal attacks altered the
entire Japanese persona, putting men, specifically Samurai far above women and even normal men.
Stray Dog uses some of this very important history to frame the understanding of the male authority in
the film.
To truly understand the reason for Kurosawas ending, we must first understand the feeling of
the Japanese people after World War II. The Japanese lost everything when they lost the war, two cities
were destroyed in nucleur blasts and their powerful unique culture was brought to ruin. This feeling is
evoked so perfectly in the final chase scene. The struggle of Japan is personified by Yusa's incredible
struggle with what to do. Finally deciding to shoot Mifune, Yusa doesn't expect to have his violence
not affect him. I see this scene as how Japan was reacting when the Allied pacific forces were getting
closer and closer, the struggle between Mifune and Yusa is this same struggle, the struggle for freedom,
the struggle for life, and most importantly the struggle for Justice. This struggle for justice is the core of
every Film noir, without it the social critique that Film noir creates would be lost to the ages.
Set in Post War Japan, this most famous Japanese detective story introduces it's own Japanese
twist to a well known genre of detective mysteries and Film Noir. Stray Dog also has very interesting
and powerful sound design. Using jazz and similar classical pieces in much the same way that
American and French Film Noir use sound. In a several minute slow chase Toshiro Mifune follows his
pickpocket woman throughout the city, not allowed to catch her, but showing his worth by keeping up
with her in the heat and moisture of Summer in Japan. Finally giving up at around 11:30, the
pickpocket woman, also a very strong female character that subverts his authorty from the beginning,
gives up and tells him what he needs to know, about his gun, and about himself “Man you are green”.

4. All throughout this discussion a man sits in front of them playing harmonica, this intertextual use of
sound enhances the shot and makes the entire scene seem much more human and interesting.
Another excellent scene showcasing “Stray Dog's” musical score is the scene in which Mifune
looks for Harumi in the almost Cabaret dance hall, this use of American culture and dance emphasizes
the industrial push Japan had during it's post-war era. The americanized music emphasizes the
industrial complex that the pacific conflict left embedded in the Japanese mindset. The national identity
of Japan had been up to this point one of warriors and uber machismo spirit that was , enhanced by the
Samurai culture that had formed over the years. When World War II ended this national identity, a new
one had to be forged.
Using a combination of several different national identities, mostly those of Allied powers,
Japan rebuilt it's once powerful culture into a western industrialized power. This uptake of foreign
ideals led Japan to a new image, much like how Post Franco spain had to change its national image.
Spain, much like Japan, was an axis power during World War II, though unlike the Japanese
government, the Spanish Francoist government kept an incredibly harsh catholic fascist rule. This
fascist rule not only censored all art forms, but it took the already poor Spanish Cinema and made it
almost impossible to make films. By learning to use other Genres of film and style Spain was able to
build it's own national cinema under the very noses of the Francoist Fascist leaders.
Similarly Japan was very much affected when it went from a powerful axis member to a
deputized american port. Japanese cinema grew much like Spanish cinema by taking american and
european films and giving their own Japanese twist to them. Akira Kurusawa, one of the most famed
Japaese directors of all time started out making films for a post war Japan, with his first movie being
about honor and martial arts, this romantic ideal of Japan went through a few changes during his career
and ended in Kurasawa becoming the most infuential director to make traditional Japanese samurai
dramas. By doing this Kurasawa went back to Japans most powerful time period and gave it a new face
for the new Japanese. Making these films, including Stray Dog (the most americanized) gave Japan a

5. new sense of nationalism and a powerful new direction to head.
Modern Japanese media includes Films, Anime, and Manga, these are the 3 basic media types
that are the foundation upon which the modern Japanese is brought up. Not only did Film Noir affect
the 40's and 50's, but they also affect the present. With Animes such as Cowboy BeeBop and other
modern film noir medias we are able to see the extent of the effect Film Noir had on Japan. After a war
that left their spirit crumbled, the Japanese were able to find solace in a new art form, one that allowed
for their bleak feeling and dark landscapes to thrive and led to the modern creation of Cyberpunk and
other Neo-Noir art types.

6. new sense of nationalism and a powerful new direction to head.
Modern Japanese media includes Films, Anime, and Manga, these are the 3 basic media types
that are the foundation upon which the modern Japanese is brought up. Not only did Film Noir affect
the 40's and 50's, but they also affect the present. With Animes such as Cowboy BeeBop and other
modern film noir medias we are able to see the extent of the effect Film Noir had on Japan. After a war
that left their spirit crumbled, the Japanese were able to find solace in a new art form, one that allowed
for their bleak feeling and dark landscapes to thrive and led to the modern creation of Cyberpunk and
other Neo-Noir art types.