Welcome to the samurai action blog. The samurai films in Japan are like the Western film of the United States. Both were once very popular, but not as much now. Both themes pop up every so often bringing up the hopes for some sort of revival, but that has not yet happened. In 2010, I published a book, titled, Sword of the Undead, which re-told Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula, with a samurai twist. (Click here for excerpt)







Tuesday, July 16, 2013

The Last Samurai - The Tom Cruise movie

I actually remember the call for extras when this movie was being made.  Then I remembered the critisism by some Japanese Americans who felt that an Asian actor should play opposite Cruise since it was an American picture. 

Truth be told, I would love to see Asian-Americans play Asian-Americans rather than Asian-Asian actors playing Asian-Americans.  But this movie was about the transition of Japan from the Shogunate government to a Constitutional Monarchy - so to have Japanese actors play Japanese-Japanese was no big deal to me.

As for the movie - I liked it a lot, despite the inaccurate and the unbelievable. 

The main inaccuracy was that the final battle scene was that the Imperial Army fought with modern weapons and the rebels only used swords and arrows.  In reality, whether it was the Boshin War, or the skirmishes between the new government and old Shogunate diehards after the war, both sides fought with guns and cannons and other modern weapons.

Then there was the unbelievable.  Tom Cruise, during those few months of captivity, can handle a katana to duel Hiroyuki Sanada, who has trained all his life, to a draw.

Then there was Tom Cruise surviving the final battle - but that was a given - you need Cruise's character to tie up the loose ends.  But this was kind of worse because before going off to battle, the movie lies to the viewer - but it was the quality of the acting that made it so, too.  I knew Tom Cruise would survive the battle, but for a moment, before they went off, I thought he was going to die - the send off was really poignant.

All movies have unbelievable parts, so in that respect its no different - the sign of a good movie is that it can pull off those unbelievable, illogical moments - and this one did -  I liked the action - the ninja invasion was as well choreographed as any chambara movies made in the seventies.  Not only that, but the swords used by the ninja and samurai were accurate - ninjas used the staright blade with the square swordguard and the samurai used the curved blades with the round swordguard. The chemistry betwen the actors was good also. 

I saw the film three times at the theatre, and three or four times on tv since. I really do enjoy the movie, but I wouldn't show it to a class on Japanese history as a truthful depiction of that period of transition.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

The Yagyu Clan in fiction

The Yagyu clan served as minor officials during the Tokugawa reign, most notably as the fencing instructors to the Tokugawa clan. 

In fiction, they have become a first family of samurai - good and bad - of sorts. 

Two of the best known Yagyu clan members in pop fiction are Jubei and Retsudo.

Yagyu Jubei, son of Yagyu Tajima no Kami Munenori, considered one of the greatest swordsman in Japanese history, in pop fiction, is a bigger than life folk hero - as I was explaining this to a person, the reply was, "Oh, like Davy Crockett, but Japanese."  The most iconic portrayal of Jubei, is of course, is by martial arts master, Sonny Chiba.  In fact, although in Kill Bill, Chiba plays a character by the name of Hattori Hanzo (another larger than life historical figure Chiba is associated with), it is music from Chiba's Yagyu television series that plays in the background in a couple of the scenes.

The other famous Yagyu in pop fiction is Retsudo, who is the villian in the story series, "Lone Wolf and Cub."  He has his sights set on the Yagyu clan being the controlling force of the Japanese government during the Tokugawa reign.  His son is beaten out of the job of official executioner by Ogami Itto - The Yagyu clan, led by Retsudo frames Ogami as a traitor - Ogami is stripped of his title, and lives his life as an assassin pushing along a baby cart carrying his three year old son, Digoro.  In the story, Retsudo is the youngest brother of Jubei.  To be honest, I don't know if he actually ever lived. 


Monday, July 8, 2013

The Vampire Kageura

This past weekend, I started another blog, titled, "The Vampire Kageura."  It can be found at www.thevampirekageura.blogspot.com.  It is my thought process as I write the sequel to the novella, Sword of the Undead.  It takes place in modern day Los Angeles. Kageura is set upon raising an army of vampires, and will once again battle Yagyu Jubei. It only has two entries thusfar, but please check it out.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

I'm Back

A couple of months after my last post, I contracted meningitis, spent two months in the hospital, and the disease had left me temporarily paralyzed from the waist down.  Slowly, I started regaining movement, and had to earn how to walk again.  I t's been six months since I last used a wheelchair, and three and a half months since returning it to the medical supply company that I had been renting it from. 

Now, that I'm back, I'm planning on starting a couple more blogs, one a "sequel" to Sword of the Undead, title, "The Vampire Kageura," and another one which will focus on spinal cord injury.