An Ecocritical Reading of Akira Kurosawa’s film Throne of Blood (1957)

Akira Kurosawa, the most Western and the most Japanese filmmaker, is still pertinent because of his oeuvre of incredible films which show various sociological and environmental concerns. One of such great films is Throne of Blood, originally Kumonosu-jō, which is also widely translated as Spider Web Castle. This film is also well perceived in the Western world as it is based on Shakespeare's shortest yet tremendous tragedy Macbeth, though it is uncredited. I would like to bring to attention how this film, which was released in 1957, is still concurrent in today's world. Environmental issues are one of the greatest concerns on this planet now. So, a concern for various ecological problems could be seen in various forms of literature. We will understand that Throne of Blood performed the same responsibility 64 years ago if we can watch the film through the lens of ecocriticism. Ecocriticism, also variously known as Environmental criticism or Green studies, is “the application of ecology and ecological concepts to the study of literature”, as defined by William Rueckart who is also believed to be the father of ecocriticism. In Ecocriticism, Greg Garrard says, "Ecocriticism is, then, an avowedly political mode of analysis…" and explains that eco-critics basically try to attach their analyses to a 'green', 'moral’ and ‘political agenda'. Therefore, “ecocriticism is closely related to environmentally oriented developments in philosophy and political theory. Developing the insights of earlier critical movements, ecofeminists, social ecologists, and environmental justice advocates seek a synthesis of environmental and social concerns” (Garrad 3). My object will therefore be to link the past to the present, to project a much older film Throne of Blood with the tincture of ecocriticism and exhibit it in the light of environmentalism.