Matsumoto continues to explore his gaze at paternity, just like he did in in one of the two parts of 'Symbol' (2009). 'Scabbard Samurai' portraits paternity through the love of a girl that wishes the best for her father, a samurai that has lost all of its honor, despite odds being against hope. There's nothing sadder than the look of a kid watching their father being humiliated, over and over, and Matsumoto knows it.
Hitoshi Matsumotos's work as a director is unclassifiable, his movies do not belong to any particular genre, and Saya-zamurai is a good example of it. Despite the movie talking about such deep and transcendental topics, Matsumoto explores them from comedy to drama, from genuine laughter to inevitable grief, always with an interesting twist of embarrassment.
