Sengoku Period

Also known as the Age of the Warring States, this period lasted for about 250 years years, from around the mid 1400's to the early 1600's.  This period ended when Tokugawa Ieyasu beame Shogun in 1603.  This is one of the most confusing times in Japanese history. The Ashikaga clan controlled the shogunate, but really hadn't secured the loyalty of many daiymos, thus weakening their power.  This is an age where local warlords fought each other to expand their territory.  Eventually, Oda Nobunaga would rise as the dominant warlord, unifying about a third of Japan.  He was asssassinated by one of his own generals, paving the way for Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who would unify the nation.  In a cumming move, Tokugawa Ieyasu usurped power from the Toyotomi clan and became Shogun, thus ending the period and Japan entered a new period known as the Edo period.

Many of the books and movies during this period focus on stories involving either Takeda Shingen or Oda Nobunaga.

Lone Wolf and Cub - Collection 2 Out

Lone Wolf and Cub - Collection 2 was released on June 22, 2010.  I just checked with Amazon and it was available.  I will buy it from my local mom and pop bookstore, but they have not received their shipment, yet. I can't wait to buy it.

Japanese word for the Day - Bakufu

Bakufu literally means tent government, and is used for the type of government under the shoguns, so loosely translated, it is military government.  Thi sis a term you will hear a lot when watching movies that that place during the Edo period, and there is some involvement with the government.

Kinnosuke Nakamura (Yorozuya)

Kinnosuke Nakamura (Yorozuya after 1971) (1932 - 1997), was a trained kabuki actor who made his name in the jidaigeki genre of films.  He made over 140 films.  He has portrayed just about every famous samurai in Japanese history, including Miyamoto Mushashi, Sakamoto Ryoma and Yagyu Munenori.  Interestingly, I don't think he ever played Munenori's son, Jubei. Of his fictional characters, I believe his best known is as Ogami Itto, the main character in the series Lone Wolf and Cub.

Kinnosuke is one of my favorite actors.  I grew up watching Lone Wolf and Cub on tv, and I've probably seen his portrayal of Miyamoto Musashi while growing up also, but I don't remember.  I know I watched a few series on Mushashi, but don't know who played the lead in those series. Wacthing a lot of jidaigeki over the past couple of years again, I have come across a lot of his films, and I've always enjoyed his performance, especially in the Lone Wolf and Cub television series. 

Here is a clip of Kinnosuke Nakamura playing Miyamoto Mushashi in the famous duel between Mushashi and Kojiro Sasaki

Lone Wolf and Cub

Itto Ogami is one of the most famous swordsman in Japanese fiction.  The story originated in a manga (Japanese comic book) in 1970 by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. 

The story is about Itto Ogami, who is the official executioner for the Shogun.  The Yagyu family desires to hold his position.  So, what do they do?  They frame him.  Instead of committing seppeuku, Ogami escapes and declares that he will take revenge upon the Yagyu clan.  The individual stories revolve around two themes.  One, his battle with the Yagyu Clan.  Second, he needs to raise money to fight the Yagyus and restore the Ogami name.  He does this by hiring himself out as an assassin for 500 ryo (don't ask me to translate - only that was a lot of money). His nickname is Lone Wolf and Cub because the cub is his three year old son, Daigoro.

In addition to the manga, there is an incomplete English language adaptation by First Comics, and a complete one by Dark Horse Publishing. Several several screen adaptations have also been made.  Two of the best known screen adaptions are the Six movies in which Tomisaburo Wakayama plays the Ogami, and the television series which Kinnosuke Nakamura plays Ogami. 

There is a debate whether the films or the tv series are more enjoyable, but I like both adaptations.

Here is a trailer to the film theatrical version starring Tomisaburo Wakayama.

Japanese word for the Day: Kataki

kataki is a Japanese word for revenge.  When watching samurai movies, this is often a theme.  Usually, a father has been killed and the wife or children seek revenge, sometimes the characters spend years seeking revenge.  A true story which has been adapted many times involving kataki is the story of the 47 Ronin.  Lord Asano of the Ako clan is executed for drawing a sword in the Shogun's castle.  His clan is abolished.  47 of his retainers spend two years planning kataki for the death.  The object of the kataki is Lord Kira, who was responsible for triggering Lord Asano's action. 

Yagyu Clan Conspiracy 1979

The Yagyu Clan Conspiracy is a television show that aired in the late 1970's.  I think there was three seasons, but each season had a different name and different storylines.  All of them involved the father, Yagyu Tajima no Kami Munenori, played by So Yamamura, and his children. Each season featured different chiildren, but the two constants were Sonny Chiba as Yagyu Jubei and Etsuko Shiomi as Akane.

Yagyu Jubei is probably the most memorable character Sonny Chiba has played.  He's played Hattori Hanzo III in season one of Kage No Gundan, and Hattori Hanzo of other generations in other films and other seasons on Kage No Gundan.  But he played Yagyu Jubei in the three Yagyu television series and also the movie version of the same name which gave birth to the tv series. 

Even though Kage No Gundan season one DVD is available in North America, neither subsequent seasons of Kage No Gundan, no any of the seasons of the Yagyu Clan series with Sonny Chiba are available.  I wish they would be.  

Here is the opening of the show.

The Making of a Samurai Sword

The katana (samurai's long sword) was the soul of the samurai.  Here is a video from YouTube that describes the process of making a samurai sword.

News of the Weird - Samurai sword attack in Los Angeles?

I just had to read about this when I read the headline.  Apaprently a man who worked in the porn industry, as a web designer and sometimes actor, stabbed three co-workers, one of whom died in an attack around 10:30 pm on June 2, 2010.  I understand that 99.9% of the time, the media means a replic of a samurai sword.  This one was described as a samurai-like sword.  But does anyone in the media really know what a samurai sword looks like?  I think not.  Case in point. The book cover on the home page of this blog.  I had to make a production decision, accuracy vs eye-catching. I chose eye catching.  But I also did some market research and not one person in the general population I asked couldn't recognize that the knife the man is holding is not a samurai sword. I simplify, I know. But, so, how did these people know it was a samurai like sword.

I also thought gee what an unusual story.  But I decided to search for samurai sword attack and boy was I surprised.  Seems like someone is attacked every year in the United States.  But then I ask again - they might have been swords, but how credible are the descriptions about them being samurai swords?

Japanese word for the day: Jidaigeki

Jidaigeki: Period drama. When a movie is described as a jidaigeki, they mean it is a period drama.  Although it can really mean any period, whether it is the Sengoku period, the Heian period, or the Edo period, it usually refers to the Edo period when the Tokugawa clan were the shoguns.  Although the themes explored in these films are the same as any other films, it is common to find themes that revolve around betrayal, revenge and  tragic romance.  One characteristic many of these films share, especially those set in the Edo period is "chambara," which is sword-fighting.  So, go out and enjoy  a jidaigeki.