Seven Samurai Duty Quotes

The peasants are sacrificing a lot to do this. If the samurai recognize that, then it basically obligates them to help. It's the duty of their class after all.

As a counterpoint to the peasants' duty to live, we get some who openly demand to be killed. Kurosawa might be suggesting through them that the people of Japan are obligated to continue living in the face of their great defeat: to do their duty to their community and struggle on.

We're cutting to the chase here. If the samurai cares about being a samurai, then he'll show mercy to the peasants and help. If not, then he's not really a samurai after all.