The Last Samuri

[drillrider]

I enjoyed The Last Samuri when it came out for its entertainment value, but when I got the DVD I started wondering about the authenticity of the events it portrays; I admit I have very little knowledge of Japanese history.

My Japanese roommate informed that the movie was quite controversial when it was released in Japan, but it was seen as positive used many Japanese actors were used, unlike Memoirs of a Geisha.

I was excited that the DVD had a special feature on the "history" found in the movie. However, it was mostly Tom Cruise talking about the samuri way of life (I guess he is a Japanese historian as well as a psychiatrist now [}:)]) and weapons experts talking about how the minutia of the props was correct.

The concentration on details to the detriment of the overall picture seems to be epidemic among "historic" films of more recent years. For example, the teapots in Titanic were completely accurate to the ship, but the main plot could have never occurred. Sidebar: many of the victims of the Titanic sinking were buried in Halifax, Nova Scotia near where I grew up; people continually make pilgrammages and leave offerings at the grave of a man who happened to have the same name as the Leonardo DiCaprio character (absolutely no connection). Sorry, a bit of a rant there[y8)].

Anyway... Does anyone have any expertise in this area of Japanese history? Did any charge of samuri cavalry against howitzers take place, or is it completely preposterous?

"You will find that man's pathway to glory is strewn with the bones of horses" Anon.

[Pat Holscher]

Leah, there's actually some threads here on Samuri and Medieval Japanese combat. I posed some questions on it, and one of our members here knows a lot about it. As for your question, I don't know the answer. I've only seen part of The Last Samuri for that matter, but it is correct that the Japanese crown basically put down the Samuri class in that period, in favor of a stronger more centralized government. More than that, I can't say.

FWIW, I still think the best look at Samuri in film is presented by Seven Samuri. Highly recommended. And, as good as it is, Seven Samuri makes The Magnificent Seven look rather anemic.

As an aside, there's a memorial to the Men of The Titanic in, I think, Washington D.C. The memorial was put up to commemorate the fact that so many of the men of that pre WWI era intentionally elected to remain on board the doomed vessel for the specific reason that they were giving up their seats to women and children. I mention this, as the film "Titanic" is almost an insult to the actual spirit of that age. No age is perfect, but I'd guess that, given similar circumstances today, such a spirit of self sacrifice would be harder to find.

Pat

[Joseph Sullivan]

INdeed. My 9 year old for some reason piped up the other day that more rich guys and first class passengers were saved than children. Apparently the hollywood culture is trying to manufacture a class war that did not actually exist on that ship. I don't know the details, but there were many rich guy guys who did not invoke their very great status and privilege, bnut rather stood aside for women and children. One such was the world's richest private citizen.

Joe

[Pat Holscher]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Joseph Sullivan</i>
<br />INdeed. My 9 year old for some reason piped up the other day that more rich guys and first class passengers were saved than children. Apparently the hollywood culture is trying to manufacture a class war that did not actually exist on that ship. I don't know the details, but there were many rich guy guys who did not invoke their very great status and privilege, bnut rather stood aside for women and children. One such was the world's richest private citizen.

Joe
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Indeed. It was far from a perfect era, but generally there was a certain sense amongst the wealthy that they had duties as a class to individual members who were not wealthy.

Everyone tends to recall the great captains of industry of the period, and how they tended to apply Social Darwinism. Even at that, however, it was not the case that they all did that. Moreover, even those who did that on a large scale, often viewed themselves as having individual duties on a personal level. So you'll often find those who owned huge factories, where workers worked in poor conditions, extending charity to individual members of the poor they personally knew. In an event such as this, it was uniformly believed at the time that men should step aside without regard to class, so that women and children, without regard to class, could survive. This is an admirable aspect of the era prior to the First World War.

Even later many of these views remained, but now tend to be lost. I'm personally familiar with at least two examples of the owners of businesses, during the Great Depression, who employed people at a loss, as long as they could, as they felt it their duty to their employees. One employed employees and servants throughout the Great Depression, and in some instances with those employees literally having nothing to do for years, so that they would not slip into poverty. They felt it their duty.

Pat

[kerry savee]

Leah, in addition to 7 Samuri, there is another movie by Kurosawa called RAN which is a retelling of King Lear but the setting is feudal Japan. Lots of court intrigue and pitched battles with cavalry, archers, infantry, and musketeers. Visually stunning.

Kerry

<i>"ride your horse forward and set him straight"</i> Gustav Steinbrecht

[Coydog]

I hear that parts of "Ran" were shot in West Canada, because of the wide-open spaces and relative availability of horses and experienced riders for the cavalry sequences.

Monique MacNaughton

<i>Stories that begin with "Last seen in a bar" generally don't end well!</i>

[kerry savee]

I wouldn't doubt it. The battle sequences are so active that there must have been many horse related injuries; I don't see how they could have avoided it.

Kerry

<i>"ride your horse forward and set him straight"</i> Gustav Steinbrecht