I had seen this before, but somehow I had completely duel scene in the wind, which I think might be my favorite fight scene now.

I also love the rest of the movie. It’s very carefully crafted but not to the point of being dull. Tsugumo’s ruse is also well crafted: besides making for good drama, his storytelling perfectly explains why his family had to go through such desperate measures, and exposes Ii as a house more concerned with appearances than combat prowess. Which is how they could survive in a time of peace, I guess.

(It’s interesting that a time of peace is unambiguously seen as a bad thing. I’m not sure it’s historically accurate, but it looks like Japanese unification led a lot of people to poverty.)