Hara-Kiri: Death Of A Samurai Original Soundtrack (Ryuichi Sakamoto 2XLP)

First-ever analog release of the original soundtrack for the film Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, starring Ichikawa Ebizo, with music by Ryuichi Sakamoto.

The soundtrack of "Ichimei", a remake of the 1962 movie "Seppuku" directed by Takashi Miike, is based on Yasuhiko Takiguchi's novel "Ibun Roninki" and expresses a melancholy theme of poverty and the conflict of samurai honor. The main theme is played on a variety of instruments such as strings, piano, and oboe, casting different shadows in each scene, and the variations give the song various aspects.

Many songs bring a sense of tension to the scene, such as the taut sound of the strings in "Harakiri" played during the seppuku scene and the desperate high-pitched violin in the following "No Way Out". The piano sounds thrown in with dissonance give the impression of skillful sound design rather than arrangement. As befitting a period drama, Japanese instruments are also used effectively in this work. In "God of Death," the drums played by Sankyokai sound like sound effects and modern kick sounds, enhancing the atmosphere. The sound of the sho played by Tamami Higashino in "Losing" is also impressive.