29 men are killed by the title character while he protects nine incompetent members of a clan unlike his attempts in a prior movie to play the silk and sake gangs against each other.  
The novel on which this movie was based was also the source for another movie, Kill!, released six years later.  The DVD extras explain that 15,000 flower blossoms were hand painted for the shoot and the flowers were individually glued each day of production.  Humor is provided by the captured spy who occasionally pops out of his hiding spot in the closet to offer advice and the constant awakening of the title character by his bumbling wards.  That title character's name translates to 30-year-old camellia as opposed to his name meaning 30-year-old mulberry field in this movie's prequel. 29 men are killed by the title character while he protects nine incompetent members of a clan unlike his attempts in a prior movie to play the silk and sake gangs against each other.  For 10 points, name this film in which Toshiro Mifune plays the titular samurai, Akira Kurosawa's sequel to Yojimbo.
The novel on which this movie was based was also the source for another movie, Kill!, released six years later.  
Sanjuro (or Tsubaki Sanjuro)