Movie Monday: Yojimbo, the western, and samurai evolution

Two of my favorite movie genres have a lot in common.

Note: I originally wrote this essay in 2019 for my (very poorly maintained) CultureSink blog. But having just re-watched Yojimbo again this last week, it felt like a good time to revive the post.

For two genres that focus on different cultures, largely different historical time periods, and wildly different societal constructs, the samurai film and the w…