Japanese Warlord Played a Mean Game of Kickball

Oda Nobunaga, one of the most feared and powerful warlords in Japanese history, liked a good game of kickball. "Kickball?" you say. "Did it even exist 450 years ago?" Well, apparently it did.

Oda Nobunaga 1534-1582

According to the book, Japonius Tyrannus, kickball had been an aristocratic pastime since the late Heian period (794-1185) and surprisingly Nobunaga, a passionate falconer and sumo fan, displayed an interest in this surprisingly ceremonial sport.

Nobunaga actively involved himself with the court such as in 1575 when he organized a match between leading court nobles at the grounds of the temple Shokokuji. Nobunaga used these matches as well as the Tea Ceremony to establish or strengthen political bonds, or to associate with people from outside the warrior class: with merchants in the case of tea, and with nobles in the case of kickball.

The kickball matches also allowed Nobunaga to famliarize himself with the various court nobles. At the time, one of the players, Asukai Masanori (1520-94), served as Crown Prince Sanehito's special envoy to Nobunaga. The Asukai family had earned a dominant position as 'masters of kickball' in the Muromachi period (1336 to 1573), thanks to the sponsorship of successive emperors and the Ashikaga shoguns. Nobunaga continued this shogunal sponsorship of the Asukai, even calling himself Masanori's 'kickball pupil' on one occasion.

I think it would have been pretty cool to have played kickball with the great warlord Nobunaga. I would be careful to always let him win of course.

As Toranosuke correctly pointed out below in his comment, the sport is not like today's version of kickball. The ancient sport is called kemari and is more like the game of hackysack or juggling a soccer ball. There were varying numbers of players, between 2 and 12, and the ball was passed between players. There was no tackling or vying for the ball and the game was not competitive apparently but was more dignified and ceremonious however it did (and does) require a great amount of skill.

Tour of Duty: Samurai, Military Service in Edo

I recently read the book Tour of Duty by Constantine Nomikos Vaporis is professor of history at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. An excellent book on the sankin kotai system, the duty of samurai to "attend" the Shogun in Edo period Japan (1603-1868).

Alternate attendance (sankin kotai) was one of the central institutions of Edo-period (1603–1868) Japan and one of the most unusual examples of a system of enforced elite mobility in world history. It required the daimyo to divide their time between their domains and the city of Edo, where they waited upon the Tokugawa shogun. Based on a prodigious amount of research in both published and archival primary sources, Tour of Duty renders alternate attendance as a lived experience, for not only the daimyo but also the samurai retainers who accompanied them. Beyond exploring the nature of travel to and from the capital as well as the period of enforced bachelorhood there, Constantine Vaporis elucidates—for the first time—the significance of alternate attendance as an engine of cultural, intellectual, material, and technological exchange.

Vaporis argues against the view that cultural change simply emanated from the center (Edo) and reveals more complex patterns of cultural circulation and production taking place between the domains and Edo and among distant parts of Japan. What is generally known as “Edo culture” in fact incorporated elements from the localities. In some cases, Edo acted as a nexus for exchange; at other times, culture traveled from one area to another without passing through the capital. As a result, even those who did not directly participate in alternate attendance experienced a world much larger than their own. Vaporis begins by detailing the nature of the trip to and from the capital for one particular large-scale domain, Tosa, and its men and goes on to analyze the political and cultural meanings of the processions of the daimyo and their extensive entourages up and down the highways. These parade-like movements were replete with symbolic import for the nature of early modern governance. Later chapters are concerned with the physical and social environment experienced by the daimyo’s retainers in Edo; they also address the question of who went to Edo and why, the network of physical spaces in which the domainal samurai lived, the issue of staffing, political power, and the daily lives and consumption habits of retainers. Finally, Vaporis examines retainers as carriers of culture, both in a literal and a figurative sense. In doing so, he reveals the significance of travel for retainers and their identity as consumers and producers of culture, thus proposing a multivalent model of cultural change. (University of Hawai`i Press)

Tour of Duty is one of nearly 200 books submitted for the 2011 International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) Book Prize. The book is currently in second place with online polling taking place until March 20th. If you read this excellent book and enjoyed it like me, please go to the ICAS website and place your vote for Tour of Duty by Constatine Vaporis.

Thirteen Assassins film trailers

From Nippon Cinema, here are two trailers for Takashi Miike's Thirteen Assassins, the 2010 remake of the original 1963 samurai film. Thirteen Assassins will be released in Japan in September.

The film stars Koji Yakusho as Shimada Shinzaemon, a samurai who gathers together a team of 13 skilled assassins to kill the younger brother of the Shogun, Matsudaira Naritsugi (Goro Inagaki). Naritsugi is innately cruel, and uses the power of the shogunate to commit mass atrocities against his own people. The assassins attempt to ambush Naritsugi as he makes his annual journey from Edo to his own domain. Unfortunately, he’s under the protection of a skilled military tactician named Kito Hanabee (Masachika Ichimura), and the assassins find themselves outnumbered four to one. Hanabee is a former colleague of Shinzaemon, and although he personally detests Naritsugi’s actions, his dedication to the samurai code of honor dictates that he must protect him at all costs. Nippon Cinema

This looks like a pretty good film based on the plot. I look forward to when this is released in the US. Unfortunately I have not seen the original since Netflix does not carry it. Damn you Netflix.

Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration

Sakamoto Ryoma is big in Japan right now with the current Taiga drama Ryomaden. But even before this drama, Ryoma was probably the most famous and popular historical figure in Japanese history. Why is that and is his popularity deserved? Recently I read Marius Jansen's book Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration. Jansen, who passed away in 2000, was a professor of Japanese History at Princeton University and author of more than twenty books of which this book he is probably best known for. First published in 1961, this book is still considered one of the excellent sources regarding the Bakumatsu period. In Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration, Jansen describes the societal transformation from the late Tokugawa Bakufu through the restoration of power to the Emperor. Jansen focused mainly on Sakamoto Ryoma but also devoted much of the book to Nakaoka Shintaro, another important figure in Meiji Restoration or Bakumatsu period. The title of the book really could have been Sakamoto Ryoma, Nakaoka Shintaro and the Meiji Restoration. Jansen begins by covering the political and economic situation of Japan in general and then moves to the political and economic issues in the domain of Tosa, Ryoma's home. Finally Jansen narrows the focus of the book further to that of the actions of the shishi and specifically of Ryoma and Shintaro. The shishi were the samurai, often ronin, who worked and fought for the overthrow of the Tokugawa Bakufu and the restoration of the emperor. One of the aspects I like about this book is how Jansen wrote it in a manner that could be easily understood by readers who may not be well-versed in Japanese history or the Bakumatsu period.

I am not going to detail the events of the Bakumatsu that Jansen covers in the book since these events are already so well known. I will highlight some interesting points I took from the book and use the book to try and answer some questions about Sakamoto Ryoma. It would be an understatement to say that Sakamoto Ryoma is one of the key figures in the Meiji Restoration period. Sakamoto Ryoma is a political hero in Japan and even a celebrity star. You can find his name and face everywhere. His grave site in Kyoto is a popular destination and although Nakaoka Shintaro is also buried there, visitors often leave with Sakamoto Ryoma merchandise which they purchase nearby. I am pretty sure there are not too many people buying Nakaoka Shintaro merchandise. This raises questions such as why is the popularity of Ryoma so high and is it deserved? How much of a contribution did Ryoma actually make to the events of the time?And how original were some of Ryoma's important ideas?

Jansen describes Ryoma's development from the early years of the Bakumatsu period when loyalist parties were being formed. He points out that both Ryoma and Shintaro were not so much innovators as they were followers of the opinion of their peers during this early time. They were literate but by no measure were they intellectuals. Even a few years later, a friend of Ryoma's, Hirai Shujiro, warned his sister against getting involved in Ryoma's plans: "Although Ryoma is a splendid fellow, he doesn't have any learning, and therefore he sometimes makes serious mistakes" (p80). One of the best examples of Ryoma's lack of political knowledge and education in his early years was his famous meeting with a group of samurai from Mito domain who had traveled to Tosa to win support for their loyalist cause. Ryoma and several others traveled to the Tosa border to meet with the Mito group. The diary of one of the Mito messengers revealed the lack of political awareness of the the Tosa group in 1858. "The two outsiders [Tosa men]," he wrote, "don't know a thing about their han's affairs; Ryoma doesn't even know the names of any of the ministers" (p89-90). Clearly Ryoma was not one of the most brilliant people around in his younger years. He was not highly educated and his writing ability was poor. Jansen describes Ryoma's letters to his sister as awkward and his vocabulary was limited. He certainly was not a person developing creative philosophies or ideas. So how did Ryoma come to be such an important figure?

In 1862, Ryoma fled Tosa. But the following months showed how little he realized the complexity of the problems facing Japan. Following the logic of a simple swordsman, Ryoma concluded that assassinating the "cowardly leaders" was the best course of action and his target would be Katsu Kaishu, a leading Tokugawa official. It is at this point according to Jansen that we see for the first time Ryoma's ability to adapt and learn. When confronted with evidence that he was wrong about Kaishu, Ryoma reconsiders his goal and decides to become Kaishu's disciple. Jansen states that this event showed Ryoma's growing sophistication and maturity (p153). Jansen also points out that one of the most important aspects of Ryoma's development was the fact that his duties for Kaishu brought him into contact with some of the most enlightened Tokugawa councillors where he first heard the possibility of a peaceful transfer of power from shogun to emperor. Already by 1863 as Ryoma continued to develop, Kaishu began entrusting him with more responsible and difficult missions (p169). Clearly Kaishu saw something in Ryoma to trust him with these types of assignments. Although Ryoma was not well educated, Kaishu's trust in him showed that Ryoma had other strong qualities. Ryoma's qualities lay in the fact that he was skilled at developing relationships which indicates that he probably had a high level of emotional intelligence.

Under Kaishu, Ryoma continued to refine and moderate his own political thinking. However, by late 1864 Kaishu was dismissed from his post and Ryoma was now back on his own as a ronin. But this now eventually brings Ryoma under the protection of Satsuma and the beginning of his important relationship with that domain. And as we all know, Ryoma may be most famous for his work in bringing about the Satsuma-Choshu alliance. The Sat-Cho alliance is certainly one of the most important events during the Bakumatsu period so the question is really how important was Ryoma in bringing this together? The fact is Ryoma was not solely responsible for bringing Satsuma and Choshu together. Although a quick scan of the internet for Sakamoto Ryoma would often tell you that he was. Nakaoka Shintaro joined the Choshu loyalists during the same time that Ryoma was working with Satsuma and he worked to convince the Choshu leaders of the importance of an alliance (p186). In addition, other Tosa Loyalists worked towards this alliance by working closely with the Kyoto nobles who had been expelled from the capital. I don't think this should take away from what Ryoma was able to accomplish or the significance of his role. However, at the very least Shintaro should be given as much credit for his work as Ryoma. In some ways, Shintaro's assignment was even more difficult than Ryoma's. Shintaro had to convince a Choshu domain whose bitterness and hatred towards Satsuma was strong due to Satsuma previously siding with the Bakufu in expelling Choshu forces from Kyoto.

Ryoma is of course known for more than just his work in bringing about the Sat-Cho alliance. He is also known for his efforts in developing a modern navy and the Kaientai, the naval auxiliary unit that also would later become one of the first modern corporations in Japan. I am not going to get into those accomplishments of Ryoma but rather his development of the Eight-Point Plan for which he his also famous for. Jansen states that Ryoma's ideas formed during his years of service with Kaishu where he was exposed to the idea that the shogun should resign in favor of the emperor. He had also become familiar with the idea of a conciliar form of government from bakufu officials such as Okubo Ichio who had developed ideas about a council of lords (p294). Similar ideas were also proposed by others such as lord Matsudaira Shungaku. Ryoma's time in Nagasaki also exposed him to many more ideas regarding new forms of government. It was in Nagasaki where Ryoma met Nagaoka Kenkichi who some believe was the person who first wrote the plan for a new government which came to be known as Sakamoto's Eight-Point Plan. However, Jansen states that regardless of who it was who worded the Eight-Point Plan, there can be no doubt that it represented ideas toward which Ryoma had been reaching for several years (p295).

So why is Ryoma so much more famous than Nakaoka Shintaro and the many other important players involved in the Meiji Restoration? Jansen provides some excellent examples for why Ryoma became so popular. Following the assassination of Ryoma and Shintaro, Jansen states "Restoration leaders lamented the loss of both shishi. Iwakura particularly regretted the death of Nakaoka, but on the whole Sakamoto Ryoma's warm and engaging personality won him more eulogies, as they had won him more friends" (p345). "Nakaoka was a sage," Tanaka Koken wrote, "Sakamoto a real hero." As Jansen states, "Ryoma's romantic career and bouyant, self-confidant bearing and correspondence lent themselves well to the image the nation wished to hold of its Restoration shishi." Another interesting point that Jansen mentions regarding Ryoma's popularity is his lack of involvement with the Meiji government. Ryoma may not have wanted to participate in the new government even had he not been assassinated. But the fact that he was never a part of the new Meiji government meant that his image would never be tainted by the negative politics and issues of the new government.

So does Ryoma's fame exceed his actual contributions during the restoration period? Of course it does. His likeness is everywhere in Japan including on toilet paper and candy wrappers. He is probably the most famous and popular figure in Japanese history. He is far more famous and popular than other Bakumatsu figures, especially Nakaoka Shintaro, even though Shintaro and others probably contributed as much to the restoration as Sakamoto Ryoma did.

Was Ryoma the originator of the major ideas that he is known for such as the Eight-Point Plan? I think it's safe to say that no, he was not an originator of the ideas he is known for but rather modified and refined these ideas. Marius Jansen says as much when he states that Kenkichi may have actually conceived of the idea of the Eight-Point Plan.

The reality of Ryoma in Japan is overshadowed by his myth and dramatic storytelling. Shiba Ryotaro's eight volume novel Ryoma ga Yuku is probably the biggest reason for Ryoma's fame and popularity in post-war Japan. Although Ryotaro's work is fiction and he took much poetic license when he wrote it, the novel still contributed greatly to Ryoma's legend and popularity. But hold on all you Ryoma fans out there. Don't come banging down my door just yet. The fact is Ryoma WAS one of the most significant figures during the Bakumatsu. His personality, his character, his ability to develop relationships and create alliances allowed him to do what few others could have done. Maybe the Sat-Cho alliance would have materialized eventually without Ryoma's efforts. But without his work, it would probably not have happened when it did. And maybe Ryoma did not originate the Eight-Point Plan. But as Jansen described, Ryoma modified it and expanded on it and he used his abilities to convince others of the viability of this plan including his lord Yamauchi Yodo who took the plan to the shogun and convinced him to resign his powers to the emperor. He was probably the only one who could have done that at that time and had he not, the end of the Bakumatsu likely would have been far bloodier. I think you will find many examples throughout history of famous historical figures who may not have developed many of the original ideas they are known for but they took those ideas and improved on them or used their charisma and skill to carry them through. Sakamoto Ryoma is no different. Marius Jansen did an excellent job showing how Ryoma grew and developed from a young, ignorant samurai from Tosa to a person respected by some of the most powerful figures of the Bakumatsu period. That by itself demonstrates how significant a person Sakamoto Ryoma was.

Story behind the famous Tsurugaoka Hachiman tree

A very famous 1000 year old ginkgo tree at the Tsurugaoka Hachiman shrine in Kamakura fell in a recent storm. There is a very interesting story about this very old tree. The tree is famous because of an event that took place in the year 1219. In 1219, Shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo was assassinated by Minamoto Kugyô. From the stories I’ve read, apparently Kugyô hid behind this very ginkgo tree in order to assassinate Sanetomo which he succeeded in doing. Kugyo was captured and beheaded the next day. Sanetomo was the 3rd Minamoto shogun during the Kamakura bakufu and it was following his assassination that the Minamoto never again had effective power. From that point forward, the true power behind the Kamakura shoguns was held by the regents of the great Hojo clan.

I don't know if Minamoto Kugyô really did hide behind this great gingko tree but it is an amazing story from one of the great events in Japanese history so it is sad to see this tree finally meet its end here in the year 2010.

Photos are from Wikipedia Commons and are labeled for reuse.

The First "Permanent" Shogun

Minamoto no Yoritomo

Minamoto no Yoritomo is considered the first shogun in Japanese history when he rose to power in 1192. However, the title of shogun actually predates Yoritomo. The title shogun actually comes from the ancient title seii taishōgun which essentially means "barbarian-subduing-generalissimo." This title had formally been assigned on a temporary basis to military commanders whom the Imperial Court had dispatched to lead expeditions against insurgents or independent tribal groups on the borders of the imperial realm.

Yoritomo had his headquarters at Kamakura, and the Kantō was his base of power. What distinguished Yoritomo's shogunal appointment from previous ones was that it sanctioned what became a permanent government known as a bakufu, "tent government." The later Ashikaga and Tokugawa shogunates were also referred to as bakufu.

What is interesting about the great Minamoto Yoritomo and the bakufu he established was that his Minamoto family actually lost control of their bakufu by 1203. Although Yoritomo's Kamakura bakufu continued on for another 130 years, it was actually controlled by a powerful vassal family of regents following the assassination of Yoritomo's sons. The powerful Hojo family of regents were the true powers behind the Kamakura bakufu from 1203 until 1333 when the Kamakura bakufu fell during the brief Kemmu imperial restoration. The Hojo arranged to have malleable people from Kyoto designated shogun, never claiming the title for themselves, preferring to wield power from behind the scene.

The 47 Loyal Samurai

The 47 Loyal Samurai is one of the most famous stories in all of Japanese history. The story of the 47 are referred to by many names including The Forty-seven Ronin, The Ako Samurai, the Ako Vendetta, and the Genroku Ako Incident. Fictionalized accounts of the incident are known as Chushingura. There have been literally dozens and dozens of books, plays, TV shows, and movies about this event.

Here is the story of the events that led to the famous Ako Vendetta.

In 1701, imperial envoys were being entertained at Edo Castle after their arrival from Kyoto. Supervising the ceremonies was Kira no Suke Yoshinaka (1641-1702). Kira sent a message to a Kajikawa Yoriteru, a keeper of the castle, that the presentation of gifts would take place earlier than scheduled. To confirm these arrangements, Yoriteru proceeded along the main corridor, known as the Corridor of Pines on account of its paintings, in search of Kira. Unable to find him, he asked Asano Naganori (1667-1701), the daimyo lord charged with entertaining the imperial envoys, be summoned. Having exchanged the usual greetings, assuring each other of their cooperation, Asano returned to his seat. Then Kira appeared, and Yoriteru approached him to confirm the timing of the ceremonies. As the men were standing in discussion, Asano suddenly struck Kira with his sword from behind, shouting: "Did you forget my recent grievance?" Taken by surprise, Kira turned around and attempted to flee, but Asano struck him again, causing him to fall. At this point Yoriteru managed to restrain Asano, who was then led away shouting loudly that though the time and place were inappropriate, for some days he nursed a grievance against Kira and thus had to strike him. That same evening Asano was ordered by the authorities to disembowel himself. Because the area had been defiled by the shedding of blood, the ceremonies for the envoys were moved to different room s of the castle.

This is what the contemporaneous records tell us about the event that 18 months later caused forty-seven of Asano Naganori's retainers to attack Kira Yoshinaka's mansion in the dead of night, cut off his head, and place it on Asano's grave at Sengakuji. Forty-six of the retainers gave themselves up to the authorities and were ordered to commit suicide some two months later.

Over time the story transformed and developed. Kira was made the evil villain--the greedy, corrupt government official who had insulted Lord Asano one too many times. The 47 loyal samurai were made to be the perfect examples of samurai loyalty and bushido. They avenged their lord by taking the villainous Kira Yoshinaka's head and placing it on Asano's grave. The 47 samurai brilliantly lulled Kira into complacency by waiting almost 18 months to seek their revenge and by acting like drunks and cowards in order to throw Kira off. They then turned themselves into the authorities and later committed seppuku like honorable samurai.

However, as is usually the case with famous stories from history, events usually happened somewhat different than what the later stories tell. Author Beatrice Bodart-Baily, in the book The Dog Shogun, provides and excellent examination surrounding the famous incident of the Forty-seven Loyal Ronin. The author examines how the incident, rather than glorifying the samurai, speaks much more of the decline of the warrior tradition. Here are some interesting points from the book regarding the 47 Ronin incident. Some of these points may seem pretty obvious and yet the loyalty and honor of the 47 Ronin are glorified even today.

• Asano Naganori showed concern neither for the reputation of his house nor the fate of his family and retainers when he attacked Kira. Asano should have known that attacking a Shogunal official in the Shogun's castle was a grave offence that likely would result in his death and the destruction of his house and confiscation of his domain thereby destroying the livelihood of his loyal retainers.

• Asano was a student of Confucian scholar Yamaga Soko, whose principal teaching was that in peacetime the samurai "should set a high example of devotion to duty." However, although apprenticed to Soko in the military arts, Asano showed a marked lack of samurai spirit as well as a lack of sword skill in his attack on Kira. Asano attacked Kira from behind while Kira was engaged in a discussion and Asano did not succeed in killing Kira. This showed neither courage nor ability.

• There is no evidence in legitimate historical documents that shows that Kira Yoshinaka was the villain so often portrayed that would justify an attack on him in the Shogun's castle. But Kira had to become the villain in order to make the story of the 47 Loyal Ronin what it was. Little is ever mentioned of Kira's 40 year service in a responsible government position, only that he was a greedy official who gravely insulted Asano. Both of which there is a lack of evidence to support.

• It has been argued by some that since the 47 Ronin knowingly violated the law of the Bakufu when they attacked Kira's mansion, it was absurd for the samurai to notify the authorities on completion of their crime with the message that they were now awaiting their orders rather than immediately committing seppuku. This leads some to suspect that the driving force was NOT the revenge of their dead lord but the hope that praise and admiration for this act of "loyalty" would secure them a pardon and reemployment elsewhere. If they had not expected to live, why did they not disembowel themselves immediately on completion of their revenge?

• With a year and a half between Asano Naganori's death and the slaying of Kira, some had wondered whether the revenge was really a priority of Oishi Kuranosuke, the chief retainer of Asano Naganori. Of course the story goes that it was all part of Kuranosuke's plan to lull Kira into complacency. Yet the point has been made of the elaborate preparations for the attack in the dead of the night, after Kira's staff was tired out by entertaining guests and when snow muffled the footsteps of the attackers. Some contemporaries such as Sato Naotaka and Dazai Shundai thought such trickery was unworthy of a samurai.

• Kira, according to his income, was a man of lowly hatamoto status. The fact that 16 of his retainers were killed in the attack, while only 4 attackers received relatively light wounds, indicated that this was an unequal battle. The large loss of life among the Kira retainers and servants could have been avoided in a spirited day-time attack on Kira on the open road by just a few men in traditional samurai fashion. In such an assault the attackers would, however, most likely have been cut down immediately afterwards and the chance of a pardon lost. The Bakufu's charge against the 47 Ronin after the incident explicitly mentions the use of projectile weapons which could mean anything from arrows and catapults to firearms. It may well also refer to spears. This clearly gave the attackers an advantage against the Kira retainers who were probably only armed with swords.

• Consideration should be also given to the public emphasis on loyalty and filial piety. The 47 Ronin certainly must have been aware that at times Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi would overturn decisions of his officials to heap praise and rewards on people who in his opinion had lived up to these ideals particularly well. The suggestion that the Ako samurai did not commit suicide but gave themselves up to the authorities in the hope of being singled out for such shogunal praise was not altogether unlikely at the time.

• When the loyalty of the 47 are referred to, it is of course the loyalty to their immediate lord, for Asano's retainers had disobeyed the laws of the bakufu in order to discharge their duties towards their lord.

The picture that emerges from the story of the 47 Loyal Ronin is that of desperate men trying to survive in the maelstrom of change. With an abrupt discrediting of traditional values, the 5th shogun attempted a major paradigm change. This must have produced feelings of helplessness and confusion in the minds of many samurai as they attempted to make their way in this changed environment with its fundamental revision of the traditional value system. The Ako samurai came to symbolize this suffering as men from a nostalgic past, as battlers against the harsh government of the day that was intent on destroying their cherished values. Their summary death ordered by an unpopular shogun permitted quick deification. To complete the process of creating larger-than-life-size images, any human foibles had to be shed. Every part of their action came to be uncritically accepted as serving a greater public good, and those that appealed to an examination of the facts were in turn accused of delusion.

Samurai Assassin

On a snowy spring day in 1860, throngs of men gather at the gates of Japan's Edo Castle in hopes of assassinating Shogunate leader Ii Naosuke. Upset with the way his life is going, ronin Niiro Tsuruchiyo (Toshiro Mifune) becomes involved in the coup, ultimately seeking a spot in a great samurai house. With no family to speak of and a broken heart, Niiro has nothing to lose -- and will stop at nothing to become a full-fledged samurai. Will he succeed?

This is an awesome movie. This movie is about one of the major events in Japanese history, the assassination of Ii Naosuke, the defacto head of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1860. The Tokugawa were headed by a child shogun at this time, so Ii Naosuke wielded the real power. And he used that power with bloody efficiency. The Tokugawa had been growing weak for decades and after the American Black Ships sailed into Tokyo Bay in the early 1850s, the Tokugawa's weakness became all the more apparent. But Naosuke was intent on reestablishing Tokugawa supremacy and so he instigated the bloody Ansei Purge. All those he deemed disloyal or a threat, even daimyo lords, were either imprisoned or put to death. A group of Mito samurai felt it was their duty to eliminate Naosuke. And that is what this movie is about. This group of Mito samurai along with other disaffected samurai such as Niiro Tsuruchiyo, plotted to kill Naosuke.

This movie instantly joins my select group of favorite films alongside Seven Samurai, Seppuku and several others. This was a great, great movie. So much better than Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor which is another film starring Mifune that takes place during the same time period. Samurai Assassin was awesome because it was not just a simple retelling of this event. The movie includes a deeper story about Tsuruchiyo's background that comes to light in a shocking realization at the end of the film. I have seen several great battle scenes in various films involving groups of samurai and this film has one of the best. The final assassination battle involved dozens of samurai in a brutally realistic battle to the death. Incredible. If you are familiar with the historical events of this period, especially regarding Ii Naosuke, then this film will mean so much more. However, if you are not familiar with this time period, this is still an awesome movie to watch. Unlike Shinsengumi, which will make little sense to those not familiar with that period, Samurai Assassin will still be a highly entertaining film even if you do not know the history behind it.

Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor

One of Japan's most revered actors, Toshiro Mifune stars in this historical samurai epic (jidaigeki). As the end of the 19th century nears, the balance of power shifts from the shogunate to the emperor. Kondo Isami (Mifune), a farmer turned warrior, leads the fierce Shinsengumi, a small army of ronin (masterless samurai). Isami and his men oppose the violent, roaming bands of ronin who are terrorizing Kyoto in the name of the emperor and against the foreigners. Together the Shinsengumi band together to wage battle against these ronin and the inevitable tides of change.

The Shinsengumi are very famous in Japan and there have been dozens of movies and television shows about them. They were the last shogun's last samurai police force assembled to fight the hordes of ronin terrorizing Kyoto. The ronin were masterless samurai who were roaming the streets of Kyoto creating terror and bloodshed in the name of restoring the emperor and throwing out the foreigners. The Shinsengumi are an interesting group to be so popular or even to be considered heroes. The reason is because not only were they on the losing side of the war and had very little or no impact on the political changes sweeping the country, but they were also a brutally violent and bloody police force.

Although there have been many films about the Shinsengumi, this one is worth seeing because Toshiro Mifune plays Kondo Isami, the most famous leader of the Shinsengumi. Isami was actually from a family of peasants but because of his superior skill as a swordsman he rose up to lead this samurai corps. One thing with this film though, if you have little or no understanding of the historical events of this time period, you will be completely lost and the film will have very little meaning. If you are familiar with the Shinsengumi and the Restoration period, then you will appreciate this film more. However, this movie is just OK, not a great film. For me, I think Mifune was too old to play Kondo Isami and the film bizarrely jumps into the story too abruptly. Aside from the narrators explanation of the historical events, there was no background about Isami. The movie just jumps quickly to important events such as the elimination of Isami's rival Serizawa, a violent and alcoholic leader of another faction in the Shinsengumi.

If you like Toshiro Mifune or samurai time-period movies, then this is still a good movie to see. Just not the best. There was one sad scene where a Shinsengumi member was ordered to commit seppuku and he had his head cut off. I was intrigued by how they filmed the scene as they showed the head falling off the body so I did an extremely slow-motion replay of the scene. You could see the actor swing his blade and that it missed the other actor by a good six or seven inches but then the head slowing falling off. Very interesting. One aspect of samurai movies I find a little silly is the funny sounding slashing noise they make when someone is being slashed by the sword. It is the same sound you'll find not just in low budget chanbara flicks but in higher quality films as well. It's comparable to the loud goofy sound we all hear in western movies when someone is getting punched in the face.

Shogun's Samurai: The Yagyu Clan Conspiracy

Following the death of the Shogun, it becomes evident that his death was no accident. He was poisoned because he wanted his second-son to be heir to his throne. A battle between the eldest and his younger brother erupts. Warriors take each side swearing devotion to the prospective lords. The plot to pit brother against brother is secretly being controlled by the Yagyu clan, a group of warriors who have trained the Tokugawa shogunate's family in the art of swordsmanship for generations. A group of Imperial nobles are also secretly pulling the strings of this plot, hoping to weaken the power of the Shogunate and restore power to the Emperor.

This film was released in 1978 and stars Sonny Chiba and Toshiro Mifune. The plot of this movie surrounds the death of the second Tokugawa Shogun Hidetada. The movie is based on what is believed to have been a true rivalry between the real Tokugawa Iemitsu, the eldest son of Shogun Hidetada, and Tokugawa Tadanaga, the second son of Hidetada. In reality, Tokugawa Hidetada had abdicated rule to Iemitsu in 1623 but the movie plays it a different way from historical reality. In the film, Hidetada dies before naming his heir but apparently he had told several people that he planned on naming Tadanaga as his heir going against the tradition of naming the eldest son. The head of the Yagyu clan who was loyal to Iemitsu became aware of this and they did not agree with Hidetada's plan and therefore the Yagyu plotted to do something about it. So they assassinated Hidetada.

This is a Good movie with many, many good sword fighting scenes and political intrigue. The ending of the movie is also a complete shocker and is a total twist from historical reality. But it is interesting to imagine if this really happened historically. Conspiracy theorists would love this type of movie. This is one huge conspiracy theory.

The Sword of Doom (Dai-Bosatsu toge)

This is a 1966 black and white film from director Kihachi Okamoto. The Japanese name of the film is Dai-Bosatsu toge which I believe means "The Pass of the Boddhisattva".

Tatsuya Nakadai and Toshiro Mifune star in the story of a wandering samurai who exists in a maelstrom of violence. A gifted swordsman-plying his trade during the chaotic final days of the Tokugawa Shogunate's rule-Ryunosuke (Nakadai) kills without remorse, without mercy. It is a way of life that ultimately leads to madness. The Sword of Doom is a thrilling story of a man who choses to devote his life to evil.

This movie is marvelously shot in black and white which enhances the grim background of the story. The movie is full of incredible and stunning sword fights, some of the best I have seen in any movie. One of the most suspenseful and awesome duels involved bokken, wooden swords. The tension and suspense as the two combatants stared each other down was edge-of-the seat awesome. It is Toshiro Mifune, who plays sensei Shimada, whose words about the sword being the extension of the soul which is probably responsible for Ryunosuke's final slide into madness and leads to his bloody rampage at a brothel. This movie includes some of the political intrigue of the time with the bloody and violent samurai corps of the Shogun, the Shinsengumi, but the movie is really about the talented but extremely disturbed young samurai. One thing about this movie is the ending, it will shock most people. Some will like it but others will be left saying "WTF" and be disappointed. One of the reasons the ending occurs the way it does is because this film was supposed to be the first of a trilogy but for some reason the remaining films were unfortunately never made. However, this is one of the few films that makes me want to watch it again immediately. It was good, really good. But the very last scene nevertheless had me saying one huge "WTF JUST HAPPENED".

Taiyuin Mausoleum - Nikko

Taiyuin was the title given to the third Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu after his death. Emperor Gokoumyou awarded this title to Iemitsu's mausoleum at Nikko in present day Tochigi Prefecture. Below is the gate of the mausoleum.

Tokugawa Iemitsu left the following message when he died in 1651, "I will serve for Ieyasu even after death." The forth Tokugawa Shogun Ietsuna understood Iemitsu's will and therefore began construction of Taiyuin in 1652. The mausoleum was completed in 1653.

The buildings of Taiyuin face Ieyasu's Toshogu shrine which indicates Iemitsu's deep respect for Ieyasu.

Samurai William

A few weeks ago I completed another book, this one called Samurai William. This book follows the adventures of William Adams, the first Englishman to set foot in Japan.

Portrait of William Adams

Adams was a crewman on a small fleet of Dutch ships attempting to open trade with the Far East by sailing across the Pacific. The book follows their adventures across the oceans including their encounters with the "11 or 12 foot tall savages" at the southern tip of South America. According the these sailors of the time, the vast majority of the savages appeared to be cannibals.

Adams and a group of nearly dead survivors finally made it to Japan where they landed at a place on the Izu peninsula near present day Shizuoka. They became curiosities at first to shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. But the shogun quickly realized that Adams, the anjin or pilot, was an intelligent and skilled man.

Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu

Though not formally educated, his technical and geographic knowledge was substantial. And his ability with languages was to become a key factor in the subsequent history of Japan. William Adams, an English Protestant, eventually became the European translator for the most powerful man in Japan. He gave the Shogun new insights into the world of the Europeans (especially the ongoing war between Protestants and Catholics). Adams was so important to Ieyasu that Ieyasu even awarded him hatamoto status. Adams essentially became the equivalent of a high ranking samurai retainer to the Shogun.

But for Adams, all this was at a cost. Though given lands, honors, and a new family in Japan, the Shogun forbid William Adams from returning home to England. Adams ended up living in Japan for close to 20 years and eventually he died in Japan, never again seeing his family in England.

A couple of years after Adams’ arrival in Japan, other Englishman arrived in order to set up a trading company, which they were able to do. Adams ended up joining the English company in Hirado and the book follows much of the adventures of the company and its members.

It was an interesting book and it revealed an aspect of Japanese history that I had not read about yet, that of some of the first foreigners to visit Japan. One thing about the book, although it is a book about the life of William Adams in Japan, much of the book actually was less about him and more about the English company (factory) and its Chief Factor, Richard Cocks.

The character Blackthorne in James' Clavell's book Shogun is based on William Adams. In August, the town of Shizuoka holds a festival celebrating the event when Adams and his fellow sailors arrived in Japan near Shizuoka.

All in all it was an interesting book though and I learned more about the eventual persecutions of the Christians in Japan.

Swords of Vengeance: Fall of Ako Castle

Friday night I watched Swords of Vengeance: Fall of Ako Castle (Ako-jo Danzetsu). Starring in this movie is Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba and Toshiro Mifune and was filmed in 1978. This samurai movie is about the Chushingura or Loyal 47 Ronin. The story of the 47 Ronin is probably the most famous samurai story in Japanese history. The story is supposed to be the classic example of samurai loyalty and honor. Of course the story has been sensationalized and glorified in the over 300 years since the incident.

Basically in a real simple explanation, the Lord of the Ako domain was gravely insulted by court official in the Shogun's castle. The enraged lord pulled his knife and attacked the court official but failed to kill him. It was a grave offense to pull your weapon in the Shogun's castle, especially against a shogunal official. The lord was sentenced to commit seppuku and his fief was confiscated and his loyal samurai retainers then became ronin or masterless samurai. A group of the ronin vowed vengeance on the court official who they felt was responsible. They planned for two years and finally the day came for them to act. They attacked the court official's heavily guarded compound and finally killed him. All the surviving ronin were then sentenced to commit seppuku.

And that is what this movie was about. It was an entertaining movie even though all of the intense samurai action took place at the end of the movie. During the final battle scenes I could feel myself moving my body as I really got into the fight scenes. This is the only movie I have seen based on the 47 Ronin so although there may be others that are better, this movie was pretty good.

Earlier this year I read the book called The Dog Shogun by Beatrice Bodart-Bailey which is about the life of shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. It was during Tsunayoshi's reign that the Ako Vendetta, as it is also called, took place. This was a great book and it did a great job analyzing the 47 Ronin incident. It was very interesting how, even though the 47 Ronin are a national legend, Bailey logically explained the faults of the Lord of Ako as well as the loyal retainers. See the post for that book here.

Samurai Movie Weekend: Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island

The second movie of the weekend was Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (Miyamoto Musashi kanketsuhen: kettō Ganryujima - 宮本武蔵完結編　決闘巌流島).

This is the last of Hiroshi Inagaki's samurai trilogy about Miyamoto Musashi and I think the best. Unlike the first two films which were a lot more action oriented, the final film shows Musashi struggling with questions as much as opponents. The most important question which is: what makes a warrior worthy of renown-strength, and the number of victories, or something more?

Victorious in 60 duels, Musashi has become known throughout Japan. His only rival is the ambitious samurai Kojiro. The two do not meet in combat until the film's final scenes but they are clearly in competition from the beginning. The difference between the two are reflected in their methods. Having proved himself in combat, Musashi seeks a way to cope with the regret that he feels over the death he has caused, while Kojiro slays and maims without any conscience. Kojiro baits Musashi by slaughtering 4 hapless samurai.

But Musashi turns his back on this life by returning to his roots of farming while Kojiro goes into the service of the Shogun. Musashi drives off a band of murderous brigands and achieves a sort of grandeur very similar to that of the heroes of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Meanwhile, Kojiro has become famous using his sword on behalf of the Shogun and their long awaited duel is finally set and fought on a small island.

My favorite scene occurs when Musashi, interrupted from his meal by a ruffian, shocks the man into silence by showing his skill--not with his sword, but by plucking flies out of the air with his chopsticks (he got some clean chopsticks before continuing to eat of course). The final duel with Kojiro shows how Musashi has changed. Musashi chooses to fight Kojiro with a wooden staff rather then his sword.

The films do a pretty good job following the reality of Musashi's life. The real Musashi was a man of many different parts, both cruel and brutal, but also articulate and reflective. In the film he is shown creating several carvings of Amida Buddha. He was a gifted painter and writer. The real Musashi did have a vendetta against the Yoshioka school and he did injure and humble its leader Seijuro and killed Seijuro's two brothers. He defeated Kojiro Sasaki on a small island in 1612. Musashi later participated in the 1614 siege of Osaka castle against the surviving elements of the Toyotomi regime on whose side he had previously fought at Sekigahara. Later, he was also a participant in the destruction of the Christian community on the island of Kyushu. Musashi also apparently fought many of his duels with a wooden sword and after the duel of Ganryu Island, it was his only weapon. During the final years of his life he withdrew to a monk-like existence and wrote Go Rin No Sho (A Book of Five Rings), as a legacy to those who would follow him.

Samurai Battles of Kawanakajima, Nagashino & Sekigahara

I recently finished reading two books by Stephen Turnbull, a prolific author of samurai history as well as another book by the author Anthony Bryant about the famous battle of Sekigahara.

The first book was called "Kawanakajima 1553-64: Samurai Power Struggle".

The book detailed a series of five battles between two of the most famous samurai warlords in Japanese history, Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin. The book described the battles in pretty good detail laying out the tactics and strategies of both armies. One of the things I especially liked about the book were the detailed battle drawings. They were very realistic and may be fairly accurate as to how samurai battle might have looked like. One issue for me is the author's relative lack of references. Other than that it was a very interesting book.

The second book I read from this author is called "Nagashino 1575: Slaughter at the Barricades".

This book was also very interesting. This book was about the battle at Nagashino castle between the forces of the Takeda clan led by Takeda Katsuyori, Takeda Shingen's heir, and the combined forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu, whose territory the Takeda invaded. This book, like the first one, provided good detail about the famous battle that eventually led to the collapse of the Takeda some years later. The book described how the Oda/Tokugawa forces utilized 3,000 gunners but many historians now feel that the real number of gunners were closer to 1,000. Whatever the real number was, the outcome was that the Takeda forces were annihilated and the survivors had to retreat back to their home province of Kai. The Takeda never again were a threat outside their borders and the clan was finally completely destroyed in 1582 by Ieyasu and Nobunaga. Once again, a lack of many references from the author is one of the issues I had.

The third samurai battle book I read was called "Sekigahara 1600: The Final Struggle for Power".

Sekigahara is the great battle between the eastern alliance led by Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Western alliance led by Ishida Mitsunari following the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi who had ruled Japan since Oda Nobunaga's death in 1582. Ieyasu was victorious which allowed him to claim the title of Shogun three years later in 1603. This book by Anthony Bryant was in a similar format to those by Turnbull. It also explained the battle and the tactics involved in great detail. One thing I thought was a little cheesy was the author's use of photos from the outdoor Sekigahara War World attraction. He admits the place is a little cheeky at the end of the book but I think the pictures are pretty goofy. See a couple pics below:

Overall this book was pretty good. The maps and diagrams of the battle were excellent. Since I think this is the most important samurai battle in Japanese history, I recommend those interested to read this book.

Samurai I:Miyamoto Musashi 宮本武蔵

Last weekend I watched Samurai I (Miyamoto Musashi 宮本武蔵) a film by Inagaki Hiroshi with Toshiro Mifune playing the character of Miyamoto Musashi, one of Japan's most famous samurai swordsman. Samurai I is the first of three and I plan to watch Samurai II and III this weekend. Samurai I was pretty entertaining. It followed the young Musashi, at that time known as Shinmen Takezo, as he fought for the losing side at the battle of Sekigahara and later how he tried to elude the authorities who were searching for him. Eventually he was befriended by a monk and taken to Himeji castle where he is locked up in a room to contemplate himself. He is eventually released and is then given the samurai name Miyamoto Musashi.

Musashi is probably most famous for his book "The Book of Five Rings" a book on strategy, tactics and philosophy that is still studied today. I have not yet read the book but I just picked it up at the Little Tokyo Library here in downtown Los Angeles. I will start reading it this weekend since I just finished reading the book called "Samurai William" which follows the adventures of William Adams, the first Englishmen in Japan who became a retainer to Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu.

I think I will also pick up Ran, another great Akira Kurosawa film that I last saw a few years ago.

Tenchijin & the "real" Uesugi Samurai Naoe Kanetsugu (updated)

The current NHK Taiga drama Tenchijin follows the life of Uesugi samurai Naoe Kanetsugu. The drama depicts Kanetsugu as a warm and emotional samurai. Not necesarily as a brutal, take no prisoners samurai vassal of the Uesugi Lord Uesugi Kagekatsu.

However, in the book "The Maker of Modern Japan" it describes an incident about Kanetsugu as just that, a brutal Uesugi samurai willing to do anything for his lord and the Uesugi clan. After the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi but prior to the defining battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu learned that his rival Uesugi Kagekatsu was busy building a new castle at Kazashigahara. Ieyasu questioned Kagekatsu but received only a response from Kagekatsu's chief retainer Naoe Kanetsugu. Kanetsugu simply replied that these were normal repairs and nothing more. In response, Ieyasu sent an envoy to persuade Uesugi to visit him, but Naoe regarded the envoy as a spy, and recommended Uesugi to have him put to death. But the envoy somehow got wind of this and made his escape. This incident was one of the events that led to the final defining battle for power in Japan, Sekigahara, which led to Ieyasu becoming the supreme ruler, the Shogun.

The book reveals more about Ieyasu's style and about Naoe Kanestugu following Sekigahara. Ieyasu considered it politic not to be too drastic in his penalties to those who fought against him at Sekigahara. This is revealed in his reply to his chief retainer Honda Masanobu's suggestion that Naoe Kanetsugu deserved to be punished (death), since he had been one of the chief instigators of the rebellion. "No doubt," replied Ieyasu, "and not only he, but the chief councillors of Mori and Shimazu and the others, because they all pushed their lords at Ishida's instigation (Ishida Mitsunari). And if I punish Naoe the others will get upset and run away to their provinces, and we may have all the trouble over again."

The real Naoe Kanetsugu, at least the one portrayed in the book, does not really match the one in the NHK drama Tenchijin. My feeling is the book portrays him a little more accurately. None the less, the drama Tenchijin is one of my favorite Taiga dramas I have seen. I think the characters for Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Uesugi Kagekatsu are really good. I am interested to see how Tenchijin shows how Naoe 'instigates' the rebellion of Sekigahara.

Hikone attempts to rehab image of Japanese dictator

An interesting article in the Japan Times describes how Hikone in Shiga Prefecture is attempting to strengthen ties with Hagi in Yamaguchi Prefecture in order to overcome past differences. The differences arose during the Ansei Purge (1858-1859). Fuedal Lord Ii Naosuke of Hikone, the highest ranking retainer of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the defacto ruler due to the young age of the Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi, executed dozens of political leaders and opponents of his policies. Included among those executed was Yoshida Shoin of the Hagi Domain.

The main reason for the opposition to Naosuke was his signing of a treaty to open trade with the United States after U.S. Commodore Perry opened up Japan with the threat of force. Shoin, who was a samurai intellectual from Hagi, opposed the treaty with the United States. For this, Naosuke had Shoin executed.

The article states that the Hikone municipal government is holding a series of events commemorating the 150th anniversary of Naosuke's efforts to open Japan to the rest of the world including the promotion of friendship between Hikone and Hagi by expressing its condolences over the death of Shoin.

What is interesting is that Hikone is holding these events in order to rehabilitate the image of Naosuke from that of a brutal dictator. Interesting because the many books I have read about this time period have explained pretty clearly what a brutal dictator Naosuke was.

However, Hikone's attempts to rehab Naosuke's image may not be that inappropriate. Clearly his tactics for achieving his goals were extreme and brutal. But today there is little debate that Naosuke's attempts to open the country were necessary and far sighted. He was pragmatic and knew that Japan needed to open up to the rest of the world and to modernize if they were to avoid foreign domination at the hands of the Americans and other western powers.

Although Naosuke's purge was successful in silencing his high ranking samurai opponents, it did not have the same effect on the lower samurai. In March of 1860, Naosuke was attacked by a band of 17 young samurai loyalists from the Mito Domain and cut down in front of one of the gates of the Shogun's Edo castle.

Naosuke's murder crushed any hope of the resurgence of power to the dying Tokugawa shogunate. His death led to eight years of loyalist samurai terrorism across Japan and the restoration of rule to the Emperor in 1868.

Hattori Hanzo

Have you heard of Hattori Hanzo. Many people have through the movie "Kill Bill". He was the greatest samurai sword maker in Japan who made the sword for Beatrix in order for her to seek her revenge against Bill and his clan of assassins.

However, the real Hattori Hanzo actually comes from the late Sengoku period in Japan (1467-1600), the Period of Warring States. Hanzo was a very loyal samurai retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu. In the book about Oda Nobunaga (Japonius Tyrannus), it was even reported that Hanzo may have practiced the arts of the Ninja. It is clear that Ieyasu did use Hattori Hanzo for special assignments such as reconnaissance and espionage during the turbulent and violent last days of the Sengoku period.

For those who have also been watching the NHK taiga drama Tenchijin, they have already heard of Hattori Hanzo as he has been mentioned in some of the episodes.

Hanzo earned the nickname Oni-Hanzo (Devil Hanzo) because of his fearless tactics he displayed in action. Hanzo died in 1596 supposedly of natural causes. However, rumor has it that Hanzo was killed by a ninja named Fuma Kotaro in battle.

Hanzo was succeeded by his 18 year old son. His son and his men would later act as guards of Edo Castle. Today, the legacy of Hattori Hanzo and his decendents remain. One of the gates of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, the former Edo Castle of the Shogun, is named Hanzo's Gate. Also, the Hanzomon subway line which runs from central Tokyo is named after the gate and therefore named after Hattori Hanzo.

Hanzo's grave is located at the Sainen-ji temple in Shinjuku. The life of Hattori Hanzo is depicted in the fictional manga series Path of the Assassin as well as the video game series Samurai Warriors where he is depicted as a ninja as well as many other movies, manga and TV shows.

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