I forgot to ask, have you seen "Sanjuro" the unofficial sequel to "Yojimbo"? While it's not as compelling as the first film, "Sanjuro" is still very good and worth a watch.
I have been trying to dissemble and recreated the iconic final duel in 'Sanjuro' without eviscerating myself rather than opponent. Discovered on a Iaido YT channel that Mifune substituted a much shorter katana for the scene. Also read that the special effects geezer overdid the pressure required for the blood spurt after the cut. His humble apologies for ruining the scene were dismissed by Kurosawa who liked it and kept it in.
