Yojimbo - Ending Explained

The central pillar of "Yojimbo's" plot is Sanjuro's masterful deception. The key twist is that he never truly aligns with either gang. His initial contract with Seibei is a ploy, which he immediately undermines by 'quitting' when the gangs face off, revealing to Ushitora that Seibei had planned to kill him after the battle. This act of betrayal establishes his strategy: to gain the trust of both sides just enough to feed them information that will lead to their mutual destruction.

A critical turning point occurs when Sanjuro, showing a hidden layer of morality, decides to free a family held captive by Ushitora. He kills the guards, reunites the husband, wife, and child, and gives them the money he had extorted, telling them to flee. He then stages a scene to make it look like Seibei's men were responsible. This act of compassion is what ultimately leads to his downfall. Unosuke, the intelligent villain with the pistol, is not fooled and discovers a thank-you letter from the rescued wife, exposing Sanjuro's double-cross.

Sanjuro is subsequently captured and brutally beaten by Ushitora's men. His escape, smuggled out of town in a coffin by the tavern keeper Gonji, is a moment of intense vulnerability, stripping away his aura of invincibility. During his recovery, he witnesses the final, brutal annihilation of Seibei and his entire family at the hands of Ushitora's victorious gang. The film's climax is Sanjuro's return to the town to rescue the now-captured Gonji. In a masterful final confrontation, he uses strategy to defeat Unosuke's pistol—throwing a knife to disable his gun hand—before swiftly killing Ushitora and the remaining gang members. With both gangs completely wiped out, he frees Gonji, tells the farmer's son to return to his parents, and walks away, leaving the town eerily quiet, its corruption purged through his violent machinations.

While often seen as a straightforward, if cynical, action film, "Yojimbo" invites several alternative readings. One prominent interpretation views the film as an allegory for the destructive nature of capitalism. In this reading, the two gangs represent competing commercial interests whose rivalry destroys the town (the market), with Sanjuro acting as a disruptive outside force that brings about the collapse of the corrupt system. The town's conflict originates from a dispute between a silk merchant and a sake brewer, grounding the violence in commerce.

Another interpretation views Sanjuro not as a human character but as a supernatural entity or a personification of fate. Stephen Prince suggests he can be seen as a "marebito," a wandering spirit from Japanese folklore who brings blessings if treated well and destruction if not. This reading is supported by his mysterious appearance, his almost superhuman abilities, and the way he seems to act as a force of nature, cleansing the town before vanishing as enigmatically as he arrived. His name is an alias, he has no past, and he functions less as a person and more as a catalyst for the town's self-destruction.