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Character sheet for The Last Samurai.


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Katsumoto's Rebellion

    Nathan Algren 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/le_dernier_samoura_46139.jpg

Played by: Tom Cruise

Nathan Algren is a former US Army captain, and a bitter alcoholic traumatized by the atrocities he committed during the Great Sioux War. He is approached to train the newly created Imperial Japanese Army in order to suppress the samurai-headed rebellion of Moritsugu Katsumoto against the reforms of Japan's new Emperor. Taken prisoner by said rebellion after a disastrous battle, he starts learning the ways of the samurai and ends up embracing their cause.


  • The Alcoholic: He drinks a lot prior to his captivity and gets served sake during his captivity until Taka has this stopped, and he eventually overcomes his alcoholism.
  • The Atoner: Uses his assistance with the samurai to atone for the guilt he carries over his actions in the American military.
  • Back-to-Back Badasses: With Katsumoto in the final battle.
  • Badass Bookworm: Algren is a highly capable fighter, but he's also an excellent tactician (implied to be a major reason behind Bagley recruiting him for the Japanese mission in the first place), an author and a Cunning Linguist.
  • Born Lucky: Seriously, there should be multiple times where Algren should've died in the film, with him lampshading the fact that he should've died plenty of times before heading to Japan. At the end of the film, he was basically the only one out of all samurai who survive while the rest perishes against the Imperial Army, and with Katsumoto taking his own life out of defiance rather than dying of his gunshot wounds.
  • Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Once she warms up to him, Taka, a soft-spoken, elegant aristocrat, proves to be quite the grounding force for the haunted Algren. She helps him find peace, and it's implied at the end that they settle down together.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Appropriately enough for a Sioux war veteran, Algren fights with any weapons he has to hand - swords, broken spears, a table, even a chopstick. His informal combat techniques are pretty much the only reason the Samurai ever have trouble fighting him.
  • The Captain: Was a Captain in the 7th Cavalry and is still addressed by his rank.
  • Death Seeker: Tries to get a recruit to shoot him early in the film (as a Secret Test of Character) and participates in a plan at the end of the film that he directly compares to the Battle of Thermopylae, knowing full well how it turned out for them.
    Katsumoto: [about Algren] You do not fear death, but sometimes you wish for it.
  • Defiant to the End: While the film makes it clear of Algren's Death Seeker tendencies and constant life-threatening events, it doesn't mean he'll go down without a fight.
  • The Determinator: That's why Katsumoto admires him. Ujio, on the other hand, sees his refusal to accept defeat from his betters to be disrespectful. He comes around eventually.
  • Dual Wielding: In the final battle, he fights with a katana and wakizashi.
  • Experienced Protagonist: He's already a trained and experienced US Army Captain who fought in the American Civil War and plenty of wars with the Native Americans before the start of the film.
  • Expy: To Lieutenant John Dunbar from Dances with Wolves.
  • Going Native: He learns about the ways of the samurai during his captivity and ends up embracing them.
  • Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Goes into the final battle without either Hirotaro's helmet or menpō mask.
  • Manly Tears: Sheds them when presenting Katsumoto's katana to the Emperor.
  • Master Swordsman: Even before he took up a katana, Algren was already capable of using a saber in the battle of the fog (it should be noted that the saber he wears is more for decorative purposes), and after learning the ways of the samurai, he was able to fight Ujio to a draw.
  • Mighty Whitey: Averted. Algren is the main character and learns the ways of the samurai, but he's never shown to be any better at being a samurai than the Japanese. The only advantage he has over the Japanese samurai is his knowledge of western war tactics, which comes in handy by the end of the film against the Imperial Japanese Army.
  • My Greatest Second Chance: He experiences immense regret and guilt over his past experience with the tribal Native Americans, but the opportunity arises to redeem this regret when faced with a similar situation with the tribal Japanese.
  • Nailed to the Wagon: Algren begins the movie suffering from acute alcoholism as a way of drowning out his guilt at his actions when he was part of the US Cavalry, but after his capture, Taka begins withholding sake from him in an effort to force him to sober up. After a brutal transition period where he is forced to confront the demons of his past, he winds up sober, even declining the offer of whiskey from Omura when he returns to the capital.
  • Nerves of Steel: Shows this a lot in the film, but is also justified for his military career and along with the fact that he's a Death Seeker who's Not Afraid to Die.
  • No Historical Figures Were Harmed: While Algren is an entirely fictional character in the film, he's loosely based on Jules Brunet (A French army captain who fought alongside Enomoto Takeaki in the earlier Boshin War) and Frederick Townsend Ward (An American mercenary who helped westernize the Chinese army by forming the Ever Victorious Army).
  • Not Afraid to Die: A theme that comes up several times in the movie. Notably, when Ujio draws his blade and swings at Algren, stopping a hair's breadth from bisecting him, Algren doesn't so much as flinch.
  • Papa Wolf: To a degree with Taka's children. During the ninja attack on the village, when Higen takes on one of the ninjas to distract him from Algren, the sight of the boy in danger motivates Algren to dispose of the one pinning him down and deal with the other. The look of fury as he drives his sword into the back of the ninja about to kill Higen and then twists the blade really drive the point home.
  • Real Award, Fictional Character: Algren is a Medal of Honor recepient for his actions during the Battle of Gettysburg.
  • Red Herring: He is not the last samurai of which the title refers to, but Katsumoto and his men.
  • Samurai: Eventually becomes one.
  • Shell-Shocked Veteran: Suffers nightmares of his time in the 7th Cavalry. The reason why he became The Atoner and The Alcoholic.
    Katsumoto: You have nightmares.
    Algren: Every soldier has nightmares.
    Katsumoto: Only one who is ashamed of what he has done.
  • The Smart Guy: Uses his knowledge of western war tactics in the final battle.
  • Throwing Your Sword Always Works: The way he kills Colonel Bagley. A particularly grievous example as, even by the standard of swords, katanas make really bad throwing weapons.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Contrast his duels at the start of his captivity with how he looks at the end of it. Undergoes some significant Character Development at the same time.
  • Trauma Button: Mentioning Native Americans has a tendency to set off his PTSD, anger and self-loathing about his part in the Indian War massacres.
  • Underestimating Badassery: Subverted. Of the loyalist characters, he is the only one (initially at least) that seems to appreciate the danger that the samurai pose.
    Bagley: They have no rifles; they're savages with bows and arrows!
    Algren: Whose sole occupation for the last thousand years has been war.
  • Warrior Poet: Aside from warfare, Algren is also a highly intelligent man who's knowledgeable on foreign culture, languages, and history.
  • Western Samurai: An American Army veteran who is hired by the emperor to train conscripts, but goes native amongst the samurai he was supposed to help fight against. He later teaches himself to speak Japanese and studies the samurai's fighting techniques, and the samurai forge him his own sword.

    Moritsugu Katsumoto 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/53366850_786925674997372_5128661443616440320_n.jpg

Played by: Ken Watanabe

A samurai who was once Emperor Meiji's most trusted teacher. He was displeased with Omura's bureaucratic reform policies, which led him into organizing a rebellion against said reforms.

He is based on real-life samurai Saigō Takamori.


  • Back-to-Back Badasses: With Algren in the final battle.
  • Bald of Authority: Katsumoto is the bald leader of the Samurai and also their strongest warrior, who personally leads them into every battle.
  • Born in the Wrong Century: The Glory Days of the Samurai are long gone, Katsumuto is but the vestigial residue.
  • Character Title: According to invokedWord of God, The Last Samurai refers to him and his men.
  • Cool Helmet: In his full samurai dress as shown during the fog battle. Pity he only wears it once.
  • Cultured Badass: The noble and altruistic Katsumoto prays devotedly, writes poetry and engages in floral appreciation as hobbies, and has a good understanding of foreign language and customs. He is also arguably the best fighter in the movie.
  • Death Seeker: Labels himself as one.
  • Defiant to the End: In the final battle, he chooses to commit seppuku after sustaining heavy gunshot wounds to show his defiance against the modernization of Japan. This earns him the respect of the Imperial Japanese soldiers, who kowtow in reverence as he dies.
  • Doomed Moral Victor: Does succeed posthumously in convincing the Emperor of the value of bushido.
  • Dreaming of Things to Come: At the beginning of the film, Katsumoto dreams of a white tiger in a misty forest, surrounded by samurai attackers but continuing to fight. When he then sees Algren during the battle, surrounded but continuing to fight, Katsumoto notices the spear Algren is fighting with has a banner with a white tiger attached to it and is reminded of the dream, motivating him to spare Algren's life.
  • Dual Wielding: During the ninja attack and the final battle, Katsumoto wields his katana along with his wakizashi and is shown to handle multiple enemies with little effort on both occasions.
  • Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: In the final battle.
  • Historical Hero Upgrade: He's an expy of Saigō Takamori, leader of the Satsuma Rebellion, a revolt of ex-samurai against the Meiji government from January 29 to September 24, 1877, 9 years into the Meiji Era. Historically, the reason why the Satsuma Rebellion was so dangerous was that it was an important manufacturing center for cannons. Paintings depicting the revolt show that Takamori's forces had plenty of guns while the well-uniformed Imperial forces mostly only had swords!
  • Honor Before Reason: He Does Not Like Guns since he considers them dishonorably for one thing. But in real life, most, if not all the samurai ended up using guns later on. He's also clinging to the past.
  • The Leader: To his son's village and the rest of the samurai.
  • Master Swordsman: Although he spends more time talking and praying than actually fighting, Katsumoto is no slouch with a sword (or two). In both training and real combat he flattens anyone who goes up against him, and his level of skill with both one and two blades possibly makes him more skilled than Ujio, his second-in-command.
  • My Master, Right or Wrong: A reconstructed inversion of the trope; Katsumoto makes very clear that if the Emperor wanted him to set aside his rebellion, put aside his weapons, and even die (or not), he's only need to order it. It's not lost on him that Mutsuhito is kowtowing to his advisors, who are the real enemy in Katsumoto's view, so he doesn't see his actions as treasonous; if he was properly ordered to stand down it's indicated he truly would have done so, regardless of his personal feelings on the matter.
  • No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Katsumoto is a fictional counterpart to Saigo Takamori, who led the Satsuma Rebellion, and is generally thought of as the "last true Samurai". Of course, the real Saigo wore a Western-style military uniform into battle and used artillery and guns...
  • Not Afraid to Die: As was typical of all samurai.
  • Only a Flesh Wound: In the final battle, he takes a bayonet to the side but it barely slows him down.
  • Outliving One's Offspring: Katsumoto barely holds back tears after Nobutada is gunned down during his escape.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Shows himself to be a firm, but a kind leader to his people.
  • Samurai: Naturally — the head samurai of his region.
  • Throwing Your Sword Always Works: Saves Algren during the ninja attack by throwing his tantō at the ninja trying to overpower Algren.
  • Undying Loyalty: To the Emperor.
  • Warrior Poet: A samurai who is well-versed in both combat and Japanese philosophy, and takes the chance to have Algren teach him Western philosophy and history during their time together.
  • Worthy Opponent: The reason which prompts him to spare Algren's life.

    Nobutada 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nobutada_samurai.jpg

Played by: Shin Koyamada

Katsumoto's son and the lord of the village in which the samurai are encamped. His father advises Nobutada to teach Algren in Japanese culture and language.


  • Aloof Archer: Composed, independent (within the boundaries of Bushido) and favors the bow. On the other hand, his attitude towards Algren is one of the friendlier among the samurai.
  • Bling of War: Nobutada is shown wearing a gilded suit of armor during the fog battle that makes him stand out from the rest.
  • Catchphrase: "Jolly good."
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: The scene where he gets his swords confiscated by the Imperial Guards and loses his ponytail in public can be seen as ethnic persecution. In-Universe, this event isn't lost onto Algren.
  • Dual Wielding: Draws both his katana and wakizashi and attempts to charge the guards during his Heroic Sacrifice.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Goes down in a lopsided battle to hold off Omura's men and buy time for his allies to escape.
    "Father, let me stay. My time has come".
  • Not Afraid to Die: Meets death with dignity.
  • Samurai: As Katsumoto's son, he owns the samurai village depicted in the movie.
  • Samurai Ponytail: For most of the movie, anyways.
  • Traumatic Haircut: When the government passes laws restricting the rights of the Samurai, he is subjected to a very undignified and humiliating public haircut by the Emperor's guards.
  • You Shall Not Pass!: After being mortally wounded, holds off Omura's soldiers while the rest of the samurai make their escape.

    Taka 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_last_samurai_movie_poster_1.jpg

Played by: Koyuki

Katsumoto's sister and the wife of Hirotaro. Much to her displeasure, Katsumoto orders her to house Algren and take care of him, right after he had killed her husband. Feelings develop between Algren and her nonetheless.


  • Action Girl: Kills one of the ninjas during the attack on the village.
  • Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Once she warms up to him, Taka, a soft-spoken, elegant aristocrat, proves to be quite the grounding force for the haunted Algren. She helps him find peace, and it's implied at the end that they settle down together.
  • Florence Nightingale Effect: Algren falls for her after she nurses him through his "cold turkey" phase when he first arrives at the village.
  • Neutral Female: Averted. During the Ninja attack on the village, she mostly focuses on keeping her children down and out of harm's way, but doesn't pass up an opportunity to shank one of the ninjas through the gut.
  • Revenge Myopia: Subverted. At one point in the film, she confesses to Katsumoto of being incredibly uncomfortable with Algren living amongst them and even pleaded with him to kill the man in revenge for killing Hirotaro. Katsumoto calls her out on this hypocrisy since Hirotaro has also killed numerous other men, who also have loved ones as well, and Taka apologizes for this mindset.
  • Yamato Nadeshiko: A perfect example — an elegant aristocrat who is at once softly spoken, but firm in her conviction. Her actress, Koyuki, is also an example of the Japanese aesthetic "ideal" in terms of classic female beauty.

    Ujio 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mv5bmtkzmtixmji5mf5bml5banbnxkftztywnte3mjm3_v1.jpg

Played by: Hiroyuki Sanada

One of the most dedicated, loyal and fierce warriors under Katsumoto. He teaches Algren the art of samurai sword fighting, none too gently at first but eventually grows to respect him.


  • The Berserker: He ignores injuries and little inconveniences like having to leap off a dying horse or being shot in the back to just keep attacking the enemy.
  • The Big Guy: Far and away the best swordsman in the village, and he's often seen kicking the most ass in battle, going up against multiple opponents at one time. He's tough enough to take a bullet to the back and keep kicking, only falling in the final charge after being shot multiple times.
  • Cool Helmet: Wears a stereotypical horned kabuto with his armor. His loss of it in the final battle doesn't diminish his badassery in the slightest.
  • Cultured Badass: While mercilessly lethal in battle and an incredibly hard teacher in training, Ujio is shown to be a refined fellow, appreciating kabuki theater and at one point demonstrating the chado or tea ceremony to Higen in his off time.
  • Defiant to the End: This is part of his character development.
  • Deliberate Values Dissonance: Ujio initially believes that Algren is the same as him, thinking that it is shameful to be captured by the enemy and that he should commit suicide to maintain his honor. Katsumoto has to repeatedly tell him that Americans are not the same as them and do not consider suicide to be honorable.
  • Drill Sergeant Nasty: His method of teaching Algren appears to be dueling (and beating) him over and over again until Algren can defend against his strikes.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While initially hostile and dismissive of Algren, as the film progresses, Ujio develops a grudging respect for his warrior skill and determination.
  • Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: In the final battle, he wears a helmet during the cavalry charge, but loses it almost immediately.
  • I Can Still Fight!: In the final battle, he gets shot and falls. Two younger samurai come to aid him, but he pushes them back, spits out some blood and stands up by himself.
  • The Lancer: Of Katsumoto.
  • Made of Iron: The man is an indomitable fighter, shrugging off any wound he takes. In the end, it takes a bullet to the back and four in the chest to finally take him out.
  • Master Swordsman: Is implied to be the second-best fighter in the village after Katsumoto, and appears to be the sword instructor for the samurai, being seen leading and supervising training and sparring sessions. Even Algren doesn't stand a chance against him, despite being an veteran soldier and a decent swordfighter himself. Algren eventually scrapes a draw against Ujio but that is only after an entire wintertime's worth of daily training and being curb-stomped in two earlier training rounds.
  • Not Afraid to Die: In the final battle.
  • Only a Flesh Wound: He gets severely injured in the final battle, but keeps fighting.
  • Samurai: A classically gruff example.

    The Silent Samurai ("Bob") 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_last_samurai_movie_poster.jpg

Played by: Seizō Fukumoto

An elderly man assigned to follow Algren (who nicknames him "Bob") as he travels through the village.


    Hirotaro 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lastsamurai_9851.png

Played by: ???

One of Katsumoto's best warriors and Taka's husband. He gets killed by Algren when trying to finish the latter off. After befriending the samurai and learning their ways, Algren eventually dons Hirotaro's armor (minus the menpō mask) for the final battle.


Imperial Japanese Army

    Omura 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thelastsamurai2003720p-42_3778.jpg

Played by: Masato Harada

An industrialist and pro-reform politician who dislikes the old samurai and shogun-related ways and quickly imports westernization and modernization while making money for himself through his railroads. Coming from a merchant family that, like many, was repressed during the days of samurai rule and the cause for his extreme dislike for their nobility, he assumes a great deal of power during the Meiji Restoration and takes advantages of Emperor Meiji's youth to become his chief advisor, wielding power similar to that of the Shoguns. He's designed to evoke the historical figure of Okubo Toshimichi, a leading reformer of the Meiji Restoration.


  • Attack! Attack! Attack!: He's so confident in the superiority of his forces during the final battle that he brushes off the advice of his paid military advisor and forgets how the samurai destroyed the Emperor's army during the Battle in the Fog and orders a Zerg Rush style attack. It didn't go well for the poor soldiers who tried to carry out the orders.
  • Beard of Evil: The movie’s Big Bad, and has a pretty dastardly beard.
  • Big Bad: The movie's lead villain.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: Lining the Omura family's pockets is his main goal, even if it means slaughtering many of his fellow countrymen.
  • Dirty Coward: When Omura angrily protests the Emperor stripping his family of its wealth as a gift to the people, the Emperor offers him Katsumoto's sword to commit seppuku if the dishonor is too great. Omura doesn't even have the courage for that.
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: He's completely unable to fathom Katsumoto's determination to die fighting the good fight, apparently having counted on Katsumoto to commit Seppuku and avoid the shame of defeat if the battle became unwinnable for Katsumoto.
  • Faux Affably Evil: He comes across as modest and diplomatic when he first appears. Later scenes reveal him to be a Machiavellian tyrant willing to crush anyone or anything who stands in the way of his ambitions.
  • General Failure: While Omura is a businessman with no military education, he is still in command of the Imperial Army in the last battle. His lack of any military knowledge and smug overconfidence in Western weaponry leads to him ignoring all advice from Colonel Bagley and making several bad decisions that lead to significant needless losses.
  • Hired Guns: Algren guesses Omura was the one who sent the ninjas to kill Katsumoto.
  • Hollywood Tactics: It turns out that ordering a human wave style attack on an enemy you couldn't see and not caring about what sort of battle plan the other side might have is a bad thing. Who knew?
  • Jerkass Has a Point: Notwithstanding his greed and hunger for power, he is astute in recognizing Japan's need for modernization and industrialization in the context of the expansionism and imperialism of the western nations in the 19th century.
  • Manipulative Bastard: Does this a lot to the Emperor in order to push Japan through modernization to line up his pockets.
  • No Historical Figures Were Harmed: His character seems loosely based on Okubo Toshimichi, a preeminent Japanese statesman responsible for removing the samurai's privileged status in Japanese society who (for better or worse) is considered by many to be the founding father of modern Japan.
  • Non-Action Big Bad: While he accompanies his troops in battle, he never gets involved in the action himself, and generally defers to Bagley when it comes to strategy. When he overrules Bagley in the final battle, his inexperience in the field sees it blow up in his face.
  • Pride: He and Bagley are far too confident in their firearms and derisive of the Samurai's fighting abilities - after nearly 300 years of peace - early on in the film. Bagley appears to learn the error of his ways, suggesting sending in skirmishers rather than the main attack force at the start of the final battle with the samurai. Omura has definitely not learned a thing, overriding Bagley and sending his men to the slaughter rather than listening to his paid military adviser.
  • Railroad Baron: He is a powerful one in Meiji Japan.
  • Smug Snake: Significantly overestimates his own capabilities, and those of his men, and is shown to frequently disregard useful advice, even if it's the advice he paid for.
  • Suit with Vested Interests: Omura's interest in Japan's modernization has less to do with any interest in the country's well-being and more to do with the businesses that he owns. This also influences several disastrous tactical decisions he makes with the army.
  • Threat Backfire: Gets to do one when the American Ambassador Swanbeck complains that Omura isn't expediting the arms trade deal fast enough and implies the Americans might speak to some other Japanese official to get what they want. Omura retorts that he can easily negotiate a deal with the French or British to supply Japan's army instead, making Swanbeck back down.
  • Underestimating Badassery: Is more dismissive of the samurai than any other character in the film. Even when Bagley starts realizing what a threat they are, Omura insists on a full attack.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Omura starts losing his smug cool when the Samurai prove to be more of a threat than he thought, and when he finally snaps entirely in impotent rage when the Emperor disowns him.
  • We Have Reserves: Is not concerned at all with his Imperial soldiers dying in droves.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: He genuinely wants to modernize Japan in order to defend and advance the nation's interest on the world stage. However, he has little regard for the suffering and bloodshed that has to occur to bring it about. Possibly subverted in that Omura is shown to have business interests that would likely flourish in a more trade-receptive Japan, so his motives for modernization are likely not entirely altruistic.

    Colonel Bagley 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vlcsnap2011050217h56m54_8468.png

Played by: Tony Goldwyn

Nathan Algren's commanding officer in the 7th Cavalry Regiment, who accompanies him to Japan to train the new Imperial Army. Algren dislikes Bagley for his role in the Washita River massacre of Native Americans during the Great Sioux War, a tragedy Algren cannot get over.


  • Affably Evil: Despite being a slaughterer of women and children (and incredibly racist), Bagley is actually rather polite and makes some effort to be friendly with Algren before he's ultimately (rightfully) rebuffed.
  • Colonel Badass: An evil one.
  • The Dragon: To Omura — he's the hired Western muscle and commander.
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good:
    Bagley: Algren, what is it about your own people you hate so much?
    Bagley: Son of a bitch thinks he can win...
  • Expy: Reviews have noticed Bagley bears a striking resemblance to George Armstrong Custer himself (who is mentioned in the movie), sporting the same sort of hair-style and facial hair, having served in the 7th Cavalry, participating in the slaughter of Indians and being arrogant and racist.
  • Friendly Enemy: Bagley really has nothing against Algren and would rather they get along, but Algren hates his guts and sees him as nothing but a butcher of the innocent. When they part ways as "allies" for the final time, Bagley gives him his full pay and simply asks just what it is about his own people that Algren so despises.
  • Hollywood Tactics: Superior firepower and a larger force do not guarantee victory. To give him credit, he shows much more respect for the samurai the second time around, and councils a cautious and tactically sensible approach when the samurai feign retreat, but the overconfident Omura overrules him.
  • I Did What I Had to Do: "I did what I was ordered to do, and I have no remorse", in reference to slaughtering the women and children of a village that raided his and Algren's forces.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Run through with a katana by Algren in the final battle.
  • Jerkass: Bagley is a man of the times who believes in his own cultural and racial superiority and has no qualms about massacring "lesser" peoples, including women and children.
  • Karmic Death: Is killed by the same man he so traumatized, and with the same weapon he scoffs at nonetheless.
  • Politically Incorrect Villain: A man who considers Native Americans and Japanese to be subhuman species certainly qualifies.
  • Smug Snake: Is extremely dismissive of "lesser" cultures and individuals, the samurai in particular.
  • Underestimating Badassery: Woefully underestimates the samurai, believing them to be no more than "savages, with bows and arrows." and that the army's guns will be enough to secure victory. He seems to have learned his lesson by the time of the rematch.
    Bagley: The rebels don't have a single rifle. They're savages with bows and arrows.
    Algren: Whose sole occupation for the last one thousand years has been war.
  • Villainous Valor: Is clearly at least brave, placing himself in harm's way when the samurai charge his troops at the end of the movie. It is used to underline his boss Omura's relative cowardice, who remains on the hill and visibly panics at the prospect of the samurai getting anywhere near his position.
  • Would Hurt a Child: He personally slaughtered Native American children during the Washita River Massacre, something we see in full detail during poor Algren's flashbacks.

    General Hasegawa 

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bd22a6b1_fbbe_441b_ac57_ab87af6c7972.jpeg

Played by: Togo Igawa

A old friend of Katsumoto and former samurai who now serves as a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, he accompanies Algren and Gant during the Fog Battle. Refusing to leave the battlefield, he ends up committing seppuku after being captured by Katsumoto.
  • Off with His Head!: How he's finished off.
  • Sacrificial Lion: Ends up being the second named character to die, after Sergeant Gant.
  • Samurai: He used to be one, which is how he knows Katsumoto so well.
  • Seppuku: After being defeated in the Fog Battle, he commits this with some help from Katsumoto.

    Sergeant Zebulon Gant 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/003TLS_Billy_Connolly_006_4538.jpg

Played by: Billy Connolly

An ex-US Army soldier who served with and is loyal to Algren, and talked him into coming to Japan. He, along with Algren, commands a unit of the nascent Imperial Japanese Army before confronting the samurai. He is later killed in their first battle by Hirotaro.


  • Brave Scot: Presumably of Scottish ancestry, and instead of withdrawing like the rest of the officers except for Algren, goes down fighting.
  • Drill Sergeant Nasty: His method of instilling some sense of order into the new Japanese recruits is bellowing at them in a language they probably don't understand.
    Gant: [to the new recruits] Right, you little bastards! You will stand up straight or I will personally shit kick every Far Eastern buttock that appears before my eyes! [the recruits immediately come to attention]
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: A samurai rams a spear through his chest and Hirotaro runs him through later on in the battle.
  • Last Stand: Like Algren, likely realizes that the first fight against the samurai is going to be a Curb-Stomp Battle, and not in the way they were hoping. Yet when Algren orders him to withdraw with the rest of the noncombatants and advisers, Gant cheerfully responds, "No offense sir, but, shove it up your ass."
  • Living Emotional Crutch: To Algren, to an extent. Tends to run interference for him when Algren is drunk or when other characters are unknowingly pressing Nathan's Berserk Button.
  • Manly Facial Hair: A veteran of the US Army and a formidable soldier who has a pretty nice stache.
  • Mauve Shirt: Technically those who get him aren't the villains of the story, but at this point, Algren (who is a witness) doesn't yet know about that.
  • Old Soldier: He's an older man who should be retired, but is still a formidable and brave soldier.
  • Retired Badass: Has been retired for quite some time.
  • Retirony: He could have well enjoyed his retirement from the army but opted to serve in Japan. He perishes in his first engagement against the samurai.
  • Underestimating Badassery: Has a good laugh when he realizes the samurai still wear armor. He seems to take them seriously enough in battle, though.
  • Undying Loyalty: To Algren. He refuses a direct order to move to the backline to fight with his old comrade.

Other Characters

    Simon Graham 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vlcsnap2011050217h57m16_1340.png

Played by: Timothy Spall

A British interpreter for Algren and his non-English speaking soldiers. Initially portrayed as a typical practical-minded Englishman, he later comes to understand the Samurai cause. He is shown to have some resemblances also to the real-world Corfiote photographer Felice Beato.


  • Brutal Honesty: Claims he lost his original job with a British trading mission because of his "unfortunate tendency to tell the truth in a country where no-one ever says what they mean".
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: Effectively lampshaded in the epilogue; while Graham doesn't know Algren's fate for certain, he (correctly) believes that he's "may have found some small measure of peace, that we all seek, and few of us ever find".
  • Gentleman and a Scholar: A scholar who makes his living translating the lives of Japanese who never quite tell the full truth.
  • I Should Write a Book About This: Graham states that he's long wanted to write a book about the Samurai for years, but their insular nature made it impossible. Algren leaves Graham the journals he wrote in captivity just before the final battle, stating his hope that perhaps they'll help with Graham's book.
  • Nightmare Fetishist: "I've always had a dread fascination with scalping."
  • Oh, Crap!: When he realizes his interest in scalping has slammed down Algren's Berserk Button.
  • Plucky Comic Relief: To an extent.
  • Quintessential British Gentleman: Though he's more lively than the stereotypical British scholar, a typical trait of whom is generally not a fascination with execution and torture. That said, Algren's vivid description of the process of scalping does seem to scare him straight.
  • Refuge in Audacity: Claiming Algren is President of the United States to bluff his way past the Omura-paid guards guarding Katsumoto.
  • Stock British Phrases: "Jolly good"
  • Tagalong Reporter: Follows Algren into some really dangerous places.

    Emperor Mutsuhito (posthumous name Meiji) 
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Played by: Shichinosuke Nakamura

The 122nd Emperor of Japan, he presides over a time of change that witnesses the Empire of Japan rapidly transform from an isolationist feudal state to an industrialized world power, which included transferring power from the samurai Tokugawa Shogunate to him. That era would later be known as the Meiji Restoration, named after Mutsuhito's posthumous name.


  • Age Lift: Inverted, since his real-life counterpart is much older.
  • The Emperor: Technically he's the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, but he's the first to have real power over the country after centuries of shogun rule.
  • The Good King: Katsumoto believes him to be this until he realizes that the Emperor puts his trust in Omura. Truly becomes this after Algren brings him Katsumoto's sword and becomes far more assertive and resolute.
  • Grew a Spine: After being fearful of men like Omura, he finally stands up to him in the end and tops it off by seizing his assets.
  • Historical Domain Character: Based on the historical Emperor Meiji.
  • Just a Kid: Deconstructed. It's repeatedly shown throughout the movie that the responsibility of leading his people despite his young age makes the Emperor consistently seek answers from his elders of what is the right thing to do, making him susceptible to Omura's manipulations while Katsumoto pleads with him to find his own wisdom.
  • Leave Behind a Pistol: Sword version.
    Emperor: [to a stuttering Omura] If your shame is too great, I offer you this sword.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: Has this reaction (though doesn't speak the trope aloud) when he sees what his attempts at 'modernizing' Japan have cost his people, prompting him to call off the trade agreement with the Americans.
    Emperor Meiji: I dreamed of a unified Japan. Of a country strong and independent and modern... Now we have railroads and cannon, Western clothing, but we cannot forget who we are or where we come from.

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