How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from the Japanese to English translated subtitles of Seven Samurai.
Quote #1
RIKICHI: Bargain with them? You give the wolf your leg and he'll take your arms too. You can't bargain with them. You reason with them now, give them something, and they'll be here in the autumn just the same.
The bandits' identities are well-established, and that's what sets the action in motion. The peasants know who they are, and know that you can't bargain with them.
Quote #2
KIKUCHIYO: You had the nerve to ask me if I was a samurai. Didn't you? I never forget a face. Look, I'm a real samurai, all right.
Out of all the characters, Kikuchiyo is the one who has the most to figure out about who he is. (He gets a lot of quotes in this section.) Everyone else is pretty much in the zone as far as that goes, but Kikuchiyo is fighting social expectations, lack of training and his old wild-and-crazy nature to become something entirely different. It's a brave fight, and, in our book at least, an ultimately successful one.
Quote #3
KAMBEI: I am only a ronin, not a samurai, and I have no disciples.
Kambei doesn't need to prove who he is to anyone. He knows it, and he's using that sense of identity to guide his actions. Ironically, he ends up relenting, suggesting that even his identity can change if the circumstances dictate.