Masahiro Shinoda and Innovation in Historical Cinema
Masahiro Shinoda has created distinctive works in Japanese cinema that combine tradition and innovation. His historical films in particular go beyond period drama to deeply depict changes in human ethics and values.
His major works include Silence (1971) and Abacus and Sword (2010). Although their themes seem entirely different at first, both raise ethical questions about conflict between individuals and society and struggles between conviction and reality.
This article compares the two films to explore the ethics that Masahiro Shinoda depicts through historical cinema.
Silence: Between Faith and Ethics
Based on Shusaku Endo’s novel of the same name, Silence is set in 17th-century Japan and depicts a missionary’s wavering beliefs amid the persecution of Christians.
The story centers on the Portuguese priest Rodrigo (David Lampson). He secretly enters Japan and tries to maintain his faith amid severe persecution. Japanese Christians, the hidden Christians, are subjected to cruel torture and forced to renounce their faith. Eventually Rodrigo himself is ordered to step on a sacred image.
Through the film, Shinoda poses deep ethical questions: What is faith? Which is right: standing by one’s convictions or saving people?
His directing style is particularly notable. With deliberately restrained images and a quiet tone, he develops the story in a way that makes audiences consider the boundary between good and evil. Against a background of cultural conflict between East and West, he also reveals religion’s universality and human weakness.
Abacus and Sword: The Ethics of an Honest Life
Set in the Kaga domain at the end of the Edo period, Abacus and Sword depicts the life of Naoyuki Inoyama (Masato Sakai), a lower-ranking samurai responsible for financial management.
Unlike a conventional samurai, Naoyuki does not wield a sword. Instead, he uses an abacus as his weapon to manage household finances and ensure his family’s survival. The film depicts him maintaining his pride as a samurai while surviving through financial wisdom rather than force.
Where Silence depicts conflict between faith and reality, Shinoda’s Abacus and Sword highlights conflict between the samurai code and ordinary people’s values. Amid the changes at the end of the Edo period, can a samurai abandon established values and accept a new way of life? This question runs throughout the film.
Family also plays an important role. Naoyuki tries to live honestly even while sacrificing his pride and status for his family. This attitude has something in common with Rodrigo’s struggle in Silence and shows Shinoda’s interest in the relationship between individuals and society.
What Silence and Abacus and Sword Have in Common
Although their themes initially appear entirely different, Silence and Abacus and Sword share several points.
First is conflict between personal beliefs and society’s rules. Silence depicts a situation in which maintaining one’s faith is unacceptable to society, while Abacus and Sword portrays the clash between traditional samurai values and practical choices for protecting a household’s finances.
Both films also address ethical dilemmas. Rodrigo must choose whether to sacrifice others to preserve his faith or save them even at the cost of renouncing it. Naoyuki likewise tries to protect his family by setting aside samurai pride and choosing an honest life.
These elements show Shinoda’s consistent exploration of individual choices within history.
Conclusion: What Masahiro Shinoda’s Historical Films Convey
Despite differences in period and theme, Masahiro Shinoda’s Silence and Abacus and Sword both depict conflict between individuals and society and choices between conviction and reality.
Silence questions the meaning of faith through conflict between religion and ethics, while Abacus and Sword depicts what it means to live honestly amid traditional values and changing times.
Both films ask viewers what they would do themselves. Shinoda’s perspective, presenting historical cinema as work with universal themes relevant today rather than simply stories of the past, may still feel fresh.
Watch both films and reflect on the choices their characters make.
