Introduction- 

Akira Kurosawa’s 1958 film The Hidden Fortress, and Travis Knight’s 2016 film Kubo and the Two Strings are two films that follow different interpretations of the hero’s journey. Both are inspired by Japanese history and culture, The Hidden Fortress taking from the Sengoku era and Kubo and the Two Strings being inspired by a mythical version of the Feudal era. These films were chosen because they have similar sources of inspiration but enough of a historical and cultural difference to influence their portrayal of the monomyth. Kurosawa’s film follows Matashichi and Tahei after failing to make a profit from a war between two clans. They end up meeting Makabe Rokurōta, a general currently in hiding, and who offers them a deal to help take the disguised Princess Yuki to the neighbouring territory Hayakawa, in exchange for gold. Kubo and the Two Strings, follows young boy Kubo on his journey, alongside a talking monkey and a warrior beetle to find a magical set of armour in order to fight his grandfather, The Moon King.