In the sixth and final episode Rentaro Mikuni steals the show as Baiken Shishido, Musashi's nemesis. Mikuni is the nominal villain of the film, but he is a devoted husband and father as well. He tries to kill Musashi only to avenge the death of his brother-in-law. While Baiken (who wields a chain and sickle against Musashi's sword) is a very human character and the emotions that Mikuni displays in his performance are quite believable and engaging
Acting
Rentaro Mikuni's wounded humanity steals every scene
Direction
Uchida's final Musashi film, elegiac and restrained
Practical Effects
Chain-sickle vs. sword choreography, genuinely dangerous
Director
Tomu Uchida
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This concludes Tomu Uchida's six-film Musashi cycle (1961-1971), one of the most underappreciated samurai franchises—darker and more psychologically complex than the popular Inagaki trilogy starring Toshiro Mifune.
Rentaro Mikuni, playing the 'villain,' was actually the bigger star than Kinnosuke Nakamura by this point—audiences reportedly found themselves rooting against Musashi in theaters.
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