Sword Catching

They always show it in the movies, but I just came across a video which shows a real life demonstration.  Maybe it's so old because no one would dare do this anymore, except for someone featured on Stan Lee's Superheroes.

Siege of Osaka Castle

(1614 - 1615)  Since the Battle of Sekigahara, many clans on the losing side held grudges against the Tokugawas.  Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was now retired, but still controlling the government through his son, and Hideyoshi’s son engaged in a feud.  As news of the rift grew, many clans who opposed the Tokugawas came to the aid of Hideyoshi’s son, Hideyori.  Several minor battles ensued, but Tokugawa finally trapped Hideyori and his followers inside the castle.  Tokugawa, then had his forces’ cannons aimed at the residence of Hideyori’s mother, who happened to be Tokugawa’s niece.   A truce was signed, but soon afterward, Tokugawa had the moats covered, and stated that any new attempts of fortifying the castle would be considered breaking the truce.  In September, 1615, skirmishes broke out again.  Hideyori had once force in front of the castle, one that flanked Ieyasu, and one inside the castle.  However, Ieyasu’s forces got close enough to bombard the castle using the cannons, and when they got inside, they saw that Hideyori had committed seppuku.  

Real Samurai Photos

These are some photos of samurai from the end of the Edo period transitioning into the Meiji restoration.

Sonny Chiba

Sonny Chiba is well known in Japan as an action star actor, and also as a movie fight choreographer.  In Japan, two of his most memorable roles are as Yagyu Jubei and as Hattori Hanzo.  The Hattori Hanzo character got an American introduction in the movie, Kill Bill.  Chiba's name also got revived as he experienced popularity here as the star of the 1970 movies of  the Street Fighter movies.

Here is Sonny Chiba, along with regular co-stars Etsuko Shiomi and Hiroyuki Sanada in a scene from the film, Shogun's Samurai

Yagyu Jubei and the eye

In pop fiction, Yagyu Jubei is usually depicted as being blind in one eye.  And many people believe this is true for him in real life.  And maybe he did at some point lose the use of one eye.  Howver, there is one print of him that exists, and that print portrays him having two eyes, so the debate continues.

That said, the origin is usually attributed to his father accidentally blinding him during a sparring session using real swords.  In my novella, it happens resulting from a duel with Kageura.  In short, there are as many different variations of the origin as there are fictionalized accounts of Jubei.

Here is one from an anime. The end of the clip has a summary of other historical samurais who have become legends.

I'm Sorry

I'm sorry I haven't been postingnew posts.  I wil try to do so more regularly from this point forward.  It has been hectic with the book promotion. Last week I was in West Hollywood, California at a book fair.

Here is a photo of me with fellow author, Sara Beacham, author of Miranda and the Tiger's Eye.

A Brief History of the Samurai

A Brief History of the Samurai is a book by Joanathan Clements.  It is 319 pages, and covers a little more than a thousand years of the samurai class in Japan.  It is a good primer, but, it is hard to get a grip on Japanese history up to the Tokugawa reign because of all the players and all the rieign changes and civil wars.  I've never really studied the hhistories of European nations before those countries stabilized so I wonder if Japanese history is that much more complicated.  I feel pretty lucky that U.S. history is relatively simpler compared to older nations.