The Last Samurai - Ujio Beheading Deleted Scene

This is a deleted scene from the Last Samurai. It takes place before Nathan Algren was captured, because his Sgt. is alive in this scene and obviously Algren doesn't know Ujio yet. I can see several reasons why it was deleted, though they didn't say.

-I think they wanted the Samurai to first be seen on the field of battle, to make the audience anxious to see the samurai. Also, there is a bit of fear when not knowing what to expect of the samurai.

-This scene shows the power that the samurai held in Japan due to their caste. Citizens are supposed to show their gratitude by bowing and moving out of the way. A Samurai had the right to kill an ingrate who accidentally or intentionally touches him or his swords. But due to politeness, the samurai may choose not to. Only the samurai were allowed to carry two swords in public. This scene shows Ujio being polite at first, but violent at the ending, while defending his honor (with no expression). It might have been a bad thing to show the samurai in such a negative way.

-If this scene was to take place before Nathan describes scalping to Mr. Graham, then Mr. Graham would have probably not asked Nathan to describe the technique of scalping.

-Also, I think this scene would have taken away from Nathan's friendship with Ujio later on in the movie.

-This is another point that I came up with. When Uijo looks at Algren towards the ending, Uijo is basically looking at an outsider, who the Samurai sees as being partially responsible for the modernization of Japan. Before Japan opened their borders, the Samurai usually killed any outsiders on their land. Algren didn't show respect for the Samurai by bowing and looking away, but instead made eye contact with Uijo. But Uijo was provoked by Algren and realized that Algren doesn't conform to their customs so he doesn't bother him.

*As for the comments about no blood during the beheading; the scene wasn't completed. If you buy the movie on DVD and go to the deleted scenes, you'll hear them talk more about this scene.

*As for the comments on whether a samurai katana can actually decapitate a human being in one swing, check out these videos...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxYvwEnKRjA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJq0hk28sCI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z8lTj7wJfY

A little history on the katana.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVCrQ4KpezA