uh oh, this is where my mind went with the horrific Tsunami news.

I loved this movie & watched it several times in a week.
I felt it had all the color & drama & emotional strengths of Ran.
I think it may have been an important work for him to explore & present the Japanese independent woman & the Geisha as an independent survivalist, rather than the Eupeanized allowable docile Japanese tethered manipulative political pawn of mid 20th century representations

From the interveiws all possible was done to create exactly what & where Kurosawa wanted with the movie. It is always difficult speculation for a fan to know what an artist would be producing given the new factors of abilities, societal standards, & financial support.

I also saw this film recently and watched it twice while I had it on loan. I thought it was a wonderful film. The music didn't strike me as out of place. Next time I get a hold of it I'll have to pay more attention and respond.

I don't see it as being out of place in the Kurosawa library. It is sweeping, intimate and at times surreal. Kurosawa mastered blending these qualities in many of his films. It also deals deeply (as the previous poster sited) with social norms and realities, revealing their complexities and fragility.

As for aesthetics, who can tell, post-mortem, what an artist's creative choices would have been. I commend those who made the effort to bring this work to the screen with the level of integrity that they did.