 A spicy dish served up hotIt has been several years (five to be exact) since I watched “Samurai Champloo,” and while I always knew it as good I somehow forgot that it is in fact one of the greatest anime series ever produced.
“Champloo” is an Okinawan word (more properly pronounced champuru) meaning “mix” or “blend,” and is most often applied to traditional food dishes such as “Goya Champloo” or “Stir-fried Champloo.” It’s basically a mixed stir-fry with a seemly infinite number of potential ingredient, and a very fitting description of Watanabe Shinichiro’s “Samurai Champloo.” An eclectic blend of ancient and modern, hip-hop and koto, and pretty much everything else thrown into the mix, this is a Japan where a wild swordfighter uses capoeira moves to slice and dice with a fury, an enormous man known as the Oni smashes skulls with his massive club, and two twin brothers compete in a match to graffiti Himeji castle. Watanabe is a heck of a chef, and manages to balance all these seemingly dissonant elements into a tasty dish that might even top his previous concoction Cowboy Bebop The story features a bookish but deadly ronin (Jin), a wild sword-swinging roustabout (Mugen) and a kooky but determined waitress (Fuu). The trio is pushed into an unhappy alliance, several times attempting to split up, yet always finding their destinies inexorably intertwined. Fuu leads them on a quest for the “Samurai who smells of Sunflowers,” providing the McGuffin that keeps the story moving. Each episode changes in tone and character, moving effortlessly between comedy and drama, tragedy and action. Each ingredient supports the flavor of the other perfectly, creating a variety of story possibilities that couldn’t be found by following just one personality. Categorize “Samurai Champloo” as “hip-hop samurai” is too much of an easy dismissal; the series goes much deeper than that. Along with hip-hop music and culture, the series features Japanese history like the hidden Christian sects, and samurai movie mythology such as Miyomoto Musashi Watanabe’s trademark style is on fine display, with some of the most fluid animation you will ever see and a quick and flowing story punctuated with quiet moments of reflection. The story builds at a good pace, allowing all the characters to develop in time. With twenty-six episodes, there is plenty of time to build characterization and identity, and while Jin, Mugen and Fuu appear at first to be mere stereotypical genre characters, they deepen with each telling. This boxset is a pretty sweet package for this amazing series. Produced by Geneon and released by Funimation, it has all twenty-six episodes on seven disks, each with its own slim case. There are four episodes per disk, meaning that no quality has been lost by squishing too many episodes on a single disk to save space. Inside each case is an essay or comments by one of the people who worked on the series, giving insight into how it was created and what goes into such a collaboration. The only possibly thing I would have wished for this box set is that Funimation had double-packed the DVDs into the slim cases, as they have with most of their other series. With as many DVDs as I own, space can be a premium at my house and so the smaller the packaging the better. |
Yokoso!
-
Samurai Champloo: The Complete Collection
February 2, 2010 — Zack Davisson
. 
and the female ninjas 
. Every episode is a surprise, and every episode had be glued to the screen in anticipation of what would come next.
Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai
January 16, 2010 — Zack Davisson
|
What would you do for your company? The system of vassal and lord is one that has persisted through out all of human history, despite all attempts political, religious and moral to change it. The one below is expected to suppress his personal desires in order to support the one above. The worker toils long hours so that the boss may take a luxury vacation. Over the years the lords have come up with various philosophies and codes to make it seem as if this suffering and repression is somehow natural, even noble, ensuring that the vassal would willingly sacrifice for the lord’s pleasure.
One of the harshest and most unforgiving versions of these codes appeared in feudal Japan. It was known as bushido, the way of the samurai. The film opens when a young man (Nakamura Kinosuke from Shogun’s Samurai, Goyokin)) is attending to his dying fiancé (Mita Yoshiko, Samaritan Zatoichi) at a hospital, who appears to have attempted suicide. Standing by her bedside, the man remembers a group of diaries that he read when his mother passed away, detailing the lives of his ancestors, all of whom were from the aristocratic samurai class and followed the code of bushido. He slowly goes through all of their horrible lives, living them over one-by-one, and watching how each of them sacrificed something precious and worthwhile all in the name of “bushido,” of the honor of subservience to a lord. Nakamura plays the role of all of his ancestors, seven in total beginning with the grizzled samurai Jirozaemon who takes his own life in order to “follow his lord” to death. Jirozaemon swears that not only will he give his life for his Lord Hori, but all successive generations of his family will live to serve the Hori families whims. From Jirozaemon, with each generation this oath is fulfilled at greater and greater personal sacrifice. A father is asked to dress up his underage daughter as a “living doll” to be presented as a bribe to a senior official. A young samurai catches the eye of his lord, who demands his use for homosexual pleasure, then has the samurai castrated when the he dares to fall in love with a woman. Throughout the years these horrors are repeated, from samurai guard commanded to execute an innocent man with a saw, to WWII kamikaze pilot. Slowly, the man realizes how little things he changed, and that he too offered up his fiancé to his “lord” in no less cruel a manner than his ancestors before him. . The first of only two Japanese films to win the prestigious Golden Bear award from the Berlin Film Festival (“Bushido” in 1963, and the second being Miyazaki’s Spirited Away in 2002.), “Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai” is director Imai Tadashi’s testament to the inherent unfairness of the ancient samurai code that was still being honored in Japan. At a time when Japanese workers were being told to “be like the samurai” and to give their entire lives to the company for which they worked, Imai held up a mirror to the country and asked those same workers exactly what were they being asked to sacrifice and for whom. The film was also a reaction to the propaganda films Imai was forced to make during WWII, showing the honor of personal sacrifice and how Japanese should be expected to give everything to ensure the goals of their leaders. While there are plenty of excellent actors on display, Nakamura is the real superstar in “Bushido,” winning the Japanese Best Actor award for his performance. He is a true chameleon as he switches effortlessly from ancient warrior to beautiful catamite youth. Even without Imai’s powerhouse directing Nakamura’s performance is worth the price of admission. Animeigo has put together their usual excellent package for the release of such an important film. Probably my favorite of the extras available was an essay by samurai scholar Randy Schadel discussing the truth behind bushido, and how it was essentially an invented code enforced on the peasants but followed by few of the aristocracy themselves. Also included are several pages of liner notes explaining the intricacies of the film and some of the more specific cultural notes. Unfortunately, these extras are only included in digital form on the DVD and are therefore somewhat hard to read, but they can easily be printed off from the Animeigo website. |
Samurai Harem: Asu no Yoichi Volume 2
January 14, 2010 — Zack Davisson
Underwear assassins
Misplaced samurai Yoichi gets his first real challenge with the arrival of Tsubame Tsubasa and Takatsukasa Angela, heirs to the Tsubameben Tenryuu -style ninja school. Like Yoichi, Tsubasa and Angela have spent their lives removed from the modern world, training in their archaic martial arts style. As the last two practitioners, they worry that their heritage and traditions will fade away. A mysterious stranger makes them a tempting offer: He will fully fund and support the Tsubameben Tenryuu -style of martial arts, so long as they perform a single task for him. Kill Yoichi.
This second volume of “Samurai Harem: Asu no Yoichi” continues in the same “lighthearted and naughty” -style of the first volume. The rivalry of the Ikaruga girls for Yoichi’s affections is put aside as the four sisters step off the stage to allow Yoichi to clash with the greater threat. Tsubasa, the actual inheritor of the school, is a shy girl who just wants to lead the normal life of a high school girl. Her servant, Angela, is fiercely determined to advance the ancient martial arts style, and won’t allow Tsubasa to lax in her duty to her ancestors. Angela soon uncovers Yoichi’s single weakness; his inability to concentrate when confronted with a female body. Angela decides the best way to take him down is to take it off, and both Tsubasa and Angela are soon stripped down to their underwear to take him on.
The fan-service is pretty heavy in “Samurai Harem,” much more so than in books like KimiKiss although you would think the opposite by looking at their covers. Yoichi seems to project some magical aura that causes any girl who gets near him to trip on something and land in a compromising pose with her skirt flipped up and custard dripping suggestively from her face. Everything is perfectly innocent, of course, except that for all his gallant veneer Yoichi can have some pretty interesting thought balloons which are only given away by the sudden geyser of blood from his nose.
Even with this aspect, “Samurai Harem” tells a good “harem” story, with all the girls being equal matches for Yoichi’s affections while Yoichi himself remains oblivious to the contest. Artist Minamoto Yu has this certain “innocent face” that she draws on Yoichi every time he is in a particularly compromising position to let us all know that he is actually a sincere and good person.
With that said, while I am a fan of fan-service in general (Hey, I like Sundome), there was one scene in “Samurai Harem volume 2″ that made even me cringe. When Yoichi’s aura works its magic and the busty Ikaruga Ibuki winds up face-down with her skirt in the air, her panties actually speak with the sound-effect “Bow Chika Wow Wow.” That might of been some creative translation going on, but either way you still have a speech balloon coming directly from a girl’s underpants, and that’s something you would usually find in an entirely different type of comic!
Samurai Harem: Asu no Yoichi Volume 1
December 22, 2009 — Zack Davisson
Welcome to the modern world, Yoichi
The word “harem” in the title should clue you into what you can expect from “Samurai Harem” (Japanese title “Asu no Yoichi” meaning “Tomorrow’s Yoichi.”) Yes, it is that kind of manga.
The set-up has 17-year old Yoichi Karasuma, who has spent his entire life deep in the mountains training to be a bushi warrior, being sent into the city by his father. His father feels he has nothing more to teach Yoichi, who must now test his skills and resolve in a different manner. With a letter of introduction, Yoichi arrives at the home of the Ikaruga dojo, ancient allies of the Karasuma family. Almost entirely abandoned, the dojo is now the home of the four Ikaruga sisters, only one of whom maintains the family’s martial traditions. Hijinks ensue.
The conflict and comedy of “Samurai Harem” comes from Yoichi’s naivety and old-fashioned ways conflicting with the girls and the modern world. Yoichi still dresses and lives like a old-style samurai, and has never spoken to a girl before or lived with electricity or gone to school. Even though he is a master of the blade, he is pretty much a clumsy oaf with everything else, and about twenty pages into the book he finds himself with panties on his head and his hands in places they shouldn’t be, all while trying to explain to the eldest sister Ibuki that it isn’t what it looks like.
It is a familiar situation, crossing Love Hina with Ranma 1/2although Yoichi is a much more earnest character than Ranma or Keitaro. Yoichi is conflicted between his desire to walk the true path of the bushi, and the sudden desires for something softer and sweeter that he had never had to deal with before isolated in the mountains. His supposed rival, a local tough guy named Washizu, isn’t quite sure how to deal with Yoichi. Yoichi beats Washizu soundly every time they brawl, but Yoichi seems to treat the encounters as fun rather than the beat-down Washizu wants to deliver.
The four Ikaruga sisters all have distinct personalities and their own way of reacting to Yoichi. Eldest sister Ibuki (the main target for Yoichi’s affections) is large-chested and good-natured, but prone to excessive fits of violence that leave everyone feeling the smack down. Next sister Ayame is a sarcastic modern girl addicted to her cellphone, although some of her harshness is a screen for her deep shame at being so flat-chested and always second-best when compared to Ibuki. Sister number three Chihaya is a glasses-wearing bookworm who aspires to be a manga artist. She comes off as one of the most interesting characters, as she realizes that she has found herself in the middle of a typical manga storyline and decides to manipulate circumstances to the most outrageous effects, so that she can use it for her artwork. Last up is the typical sweet and shy youngest sister, Kagome, who is a dead-ringer for Shinobu from Love Hina and also can’t seem to keep her underpants off of Yoichi’s head.
Formulaic? Totally. But you either like the formula or you don’t. I like it, and thought that “Samurai Harem” delivered a good variation on a favorite theme. Cute girls in compromising positions, some samurai action (but not too much), decent characters and a fun storyline…”Samurai Harem” isn’t going to go down as one of the greatest manga of all time, but it is definitely worth the read if you like the genre.
Hana: The Tale of a Reluctant Samurai
November 23, 2009 — Zack Davisson
Even more than flowers
With every new film, Koreeda Hirokazu (After Life, Nobody Knows) shows himself to be one of the giants of modern Japanese film. He seems to have inherited the space left behind by Itami Juzo (Tampopo, Supermarket Woman) telling Frank Capraesque tales of kindness and affection overcoming insurmountable odds, creating a world where life’s bitterness is always tempered by the sweet and simple joys that life can provide.
Koreeda is definitely a stylist, and it should come as no surprise that his take on the samurai genre, “Hana” (Japanese title “Hana yori mo naho,” or “Even more than flowers.”) has this same bittersweetness. With this film, Koreeda has taken one of Japan’s most recognizable stories, a tale told for more than two hundred years and always with a fist pounding the chest and a grim face, and turned it into a sweet love story.
The story is Chushingura, known in English as the “47 Ronin.” The real-life tale of the loyal 47 Ronin who avenge the death of their Lord Asano has been re-told and filmed countless times since the incident occurred in 1701. The title of this film is actually a reference to the event, being a snatch of a poem recited by Lord Asano before his enforced ritual suicide. “Though we may regret the scattering of the flower petals in the wind, even greater is the regret in my heart.”
Koreeda has used Chushingura as the decoration for his main story, of a samurai named Soza (Okada Junichi, who appeared in an early made-for-TV adaptation of “Chushingura”) who has been charged with the vengeance-killing of the man who slew his father. Soza’s father, a proud samurai, was killed not on the battleground but in a dispute over a game of Go, and the clan looks to Soza to reclaim his father’s honor and to prove himself as a samurai. Soza, however, is not a violent man, and has whiled away three years pretending to seek the killer while actually whiling his time away in the dire poverty of a series of row houses, and getting to know the people living there.
Life in the row houses allows for an ensemble cast, including a few of the 47 Ronin who are hiding out and plotting their revenge. Soza strikes up a friendship with a neighbor named Osae, (Miyazawa Rie, who had also appeared in a previous adaptation of “Chushingura.”) and her orphaned son, who looks on Soza as a father-figure. A three-stooges like trio of comedy relief try to figure out how they can increase their excrement, which is sold to farmers and pays for the New Year’s mochi. In a plotline straight out of The Goonies, a cruel landlord plans to evict all of the tenants of the row house unless they can come up with the back-rent all of them own. Cue the wacky plan and let the hijinks begin.
The only film I can really compare “Hana” to is Kurosawa Akira’s The Lower Depths. This is a story of love and life amongst the lower classes, and of those who face the demands of their station as opposed to the whispers of their hearts. It is a peaceful, quiet film with no action and no dramatic conclusion. And it is beautiful. The music is especially delightful. I am not sure what kind of instrument is playing but I love the sound and it fits perfectly with the tone of the film.
If you like Koreeda’s films and the message that he sends, then you will fall in love with “Hana.” I certainly did. Just don’t make the mistake of thinking that all samurai films need heavy-hitting heroes and bold drama to make for a great film experience.
Shinobi No Mono 4: Siege
October 23, 2009 — Zack Davisson
|
5.0 out of 5 stars Exit Goemon, enter Saizo
One of the unique strengths of the “Shinobi no Mono” series is how the emphasis is put on the stars. The characters change even though the same actors are appearing. What this means, is that if a character’s story arc completes, the actors simply take on a different role in the next film. It is a not entirely unheard of practice in the West. Actor Bruce Spence appeared as the Gyro Captain in The Road Warrior, and then again in the sequel Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome as a different character entirely.
In the fourth entry in the “Shinobi no Mono” series, the ninja Goemon steps off the stage, having walked to the end of his path of vengeance, and actor Ichikawa Raizo steps into the new role of Kirigakure Saizo. Saizo is a ninja charged with spying on Tokugawa Ieyasu’s forces as Tokugawa lays siege to Osaka castle in 1614. Tokugawa has his own ninjas, and Saizo and the Tokugawa ninjas wage silent ninja warfare with each other in a deadly game of cat-and-cat. Saizo is assisted by the Lady Akane (Isomura Midori, Zatoichi Challenged), who is a love interest for Saizo as well. And for a ninja, love is never a good idea. Ichikawa is joined in his new role by Wakayama Tomisaburo (Lone Wolf and Cub) who played the warlord Nobunaga Oda in the first three “Shinobi no Mono” films, but now returns as Saizo’s lord and mentor Yukimura Sanada. Saburo Date (Revenge of a Kabuki Actor), who played Hattori Hanzo in the previous films, returns as well in a new role, as do several other actors from the previous series. Even with the new storyline, the feel of “Shinobi no Mono” is carried on, with the deep political intrigue punctuated by realistic ninja action. These are not your typical Hollywood ninjas, but the real deal with stunts designed by Masaaki Hatsumi, a Grandmaster of ninjutsu and one of the greatest authorities on historical ninja. “Shinobi no Mono 4″ is a typical Animeigo DVD, which means it blows away most normal DVD releases. There are history lessons, a clickable map detailing the locations in the film, still galleries and a whole bunch of other goodness. The black-and-white transfer is beautifully done. |
Ashura
October 21, 2009 — Zack Davisson
4.0 out of 5 stars A world of demons and fire and love
Kabuki has always been the secret heart of Japanese film. When the first motion picture cameras arrived in Japan, they immediately started filming Kabuki performances for posterity, and have never really stopped since. Kabuki’s visual and storytelling style flavors all most all Japanese films, from big productions like Cutie Honey to kabuki-trained actress Inou Rie and her particular movements as Sadako in Ring.
It is rare, however, for modern Kabuki plays to be adapted directly into film. Nakashima Kazuki’s “Ashurajo no Hitomi (1987)” (“The Eye of Castle Ashura”) was a big enough hit that in 2005 director Takita Yojiro (Onmyoji) used it as the basis for his martial-arts fantasy film of the same name. As the lead he even cast Ichikawa Somegoro, who had made the role famous in the Kabuki theater. It was a bold and ambitious experiment.
The story is huge in scope. In a magical time of old Japan, a time when demons walk the earth, Wakuraba Izumo (Ichikawa) is a powerful Demon Warden, who is charged with seeking out and killing demons where he can find them. His faith in himself is shaken one day when he accidentally kills a young girl. Abandoning his host, he loses himself as an actor in the kabuki theater, a place where you past makes no difference. Into this world comes Bizan (Higuchi Kanako from Ronin Gai), a queen of demons who wants to awaken the reincarnated Ashura and bring Hell to Earth. Bizan is aided by Jaku, a demon warder gone rogue, and thousands of green-blooded demons. Izumo finds a companion and love interest in the beautiful thief Tsubaki (Miyazawa Rie from The Twilight Samurai), who might just be the person Bizan is searching for.
“Ashura” is a fantastic film, but not 100% successful. Japan has never really got a handle on the martial arts fantasy film, although there have been improvements over the years. There are some great strides here in special effects, and getting Ichikawa for the role was a true coup. Only someone with kabuki experience could have pulled off the role, especially the scenes of Izumo as a kabuki actor. The story is epic, with flaming skies and demon armies and a scale that has never been attempted in Japanese film before. It is an awesome spectacle.
That is its problem at the same time, however. One of the thrills of kabuki is the special effects, those moments of stage-craft that blow you mind when they are performed live in front of you. Something that produces wonderment in real life, like the burning city of Tokyo and a floating castle, just doesn’t have the same impact when summoned up by computer skills.
As an adapted kabuki play, the action and story are pure melodrama, which is something I love. Anyone expecting a “straight” film needs to do some research on kabuki before they check this out, to give them a better idea of what to expect. Animeigo has helped you out by producing a beautiful DVD to go along with the ground-breaking film, including and extra disk with features on the original play and its adaptation. As always, Animeigo continues to create the best subtitles in the business that include pop-up cultural notes along with the regular dialog, creating a whole package that can be used to study this bit of Japanese culture while watching a great flick.
Zatoichi 20 – Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo
October 21, 2009 — Zack Davisson
Clash of the Titans
The fact that this movie exists, and that it is actually good, is a rare surprise. When two characters are as popular and famous as Katsu Shintaro’s Zatoichi and Mifune Toshiro’s Yojimbo, the temptation to throw them together into a single film is often too great to resist for movie studios, but the results are usually a disaster. They are gimmick films at their hearts.
Fortunately, this one was done right. The 20th installment in the 26 film Zatoichi series, “Zatoichi meets Yojimbo” (original title “Zatoichi to Yojimbo”, meaning “Zatoichi and Yojimbo”, the “meets” was thrown in there for Western audiences), teams up two of the titans of the samurai genre, three if you count director Okamoto Kihachi (The Sword of Doom). There is an easy comradeship between them, and Mifune’s star power does not overshadow Katsu’s lead.
The story is pretty typical of the series. Zatoichi is weary; he has broken his famous cane sword, and seeks refuge in a village he passed through some years ago. In a nod to the original Yojimbo film, the once-peaceful village finds itself in the middle of a gang war where two rivals fight for control of the town. Zatoichi’s appearance makes him a wildcard, as both sides bid for his service. But then into town comes a rough and ready character and apparent drunkard willing to also sell his sword to service. The two play off of each other, circling around for the inevitable battle. Of course, there is more to the story: The beautiful prostitute Umeno (Wakao Ayaka Red Angel, Manji) is capturing both rival’s hearts, a secret stockpile of gold is to be found and fought for, and a third rival comes to town in the form of Kishida Shin (Kill! ) as gunslinger Kuzuryu, the nine-headed dragon.
Admittedly, the plot isn’t going to win any major awards, but one doesn’t really watch the Zatoichi series for the plot. They watch it for Katsu’s easy charm, and the fun familiarity that only comes with a long-running series. Mifune’s drunken swaggering is a great counterbalance to the Zatoichi character. This isn’t exactly the same character from Kurosawa’s classic films, but close enough. There is one nice in-joke, where he is referred to as Shijuro (forty-year-old), setting the character ten years after Sanjuro (meaning thirty-year-old). The showdown between the two isn’t quite as dynamic as I was hoping for, but the ending was very satisfying.
Mifune and Katsu would meet again just a few months later after the release of “Zatoichi meets Yojimbo”, in the Inagaki Hiroshi flick Incident at Blood Pass. Mifune would again reprise the Yojimbo character for this film, although Katsu was a mountain-bandit Gentetsu. Mifune clearly was not opposed to a good team-up, as he would meet The Magnificent Seven actor Charles Bronson a year later in the Western Red Sun.
Chushingura
October 6, 2009 — Zack Davisson
4.0 out of 5 stars Loyalty
Based on actual events, the story of the loyal 47 ronin is probably the most dramatized story in Japanese theatrical tradition. Appearing originally as a bunraku puppet play, it was soon followed by a fantastically successful Kabuki adaptations and more than eight cinematic versions. Its enduring popularity is based on the core Japanese values it represents; loyalty to a superior, at the cost of all things including life, love and personal happiness. Like the Western King Arthur and Robin Hood, the 47 ronin have passed from history to legend.
This version, “Chushingura” (Full Japanese title is “Chushingura: Hana no maki yuki no maki,”) is a sprawling 3 hour epic from the Japanese master of legendary films. Director Hiroshi Inagaki, probably best known in the West for his 3-film Miyamoto Musashi masterpiece “Samurai I,II and III,” brings his unique eye to the familiar story, blending a quiet human touch into the massive picture. He has assembled the all-stars of the Japanese chambara (“swordfight”) genre. Tatsuya Mihashi (“Tora Tora Tora,”) Takashi Shimura (“Seven Samurai,”) Yuzo Kayama (“Red Beard”) and of course Toshiro Mifune (“Seven Samurai,” “Yojimbo,” too many films to mention…), each name on the roster is one of the best, each with at lease on Kurosawa-credit on their resume, if not more.
The story unfolds at a long, dense pace, leaving you wondering along the way which of Lord Asano’s 60-plus samurai will remain loyal, and which will give into fear. By no means is this an action film, but a didactic tale stuffed with politics and the disintegrating nature of modernization and the loss of traditional morality and ethics. However, the film is a long slow fuse, building to the dynamite that is the rightful vengeance of the loyal 47. The final battle in the snow is a beautiful ballet of swords and blood.
Unfortunately, the DVD does not live up to the promise of the movie. It is a bare bones disk, with a decent widescreen presentation and nothing else. Due to the historical and important nature of “Chushingura,” there is room for so much more. However, beggars can’t be choosers, and having the movie alone is a treat. Maybe someday a better release will come along, but until then it is enough to watch the unfolding drama of 47 men willing to die for what they believe in.
The Bamboo Sword: And Other Samurai Tales
September 30, 2009 — Zack Davisson
War and Peace and Love
There has been a renaissance lately in the samurai genre, from directors like Yamada Yoji (The Twilight Samurai, The Hidden Blade, Love and Honor) and Kurotsuchi Mitsuo (The Samurai I Loved). All of these films have something in common, in that the stories and style are drawn from the same source, namely the short stories of Fujisawa Shuhei.
Fujisawa was something of a romanticist, writing stories of a distant past that he never personally experienced. Born in 1927 and dying in 1997, Fujisawa was a personal witness to the rise and fall and rise and fall of Japan, both in WWII and the Bubble Economy era. As opposed to these eras of conflict, Fujisawa’s stories generally take place in the 200-year span of peace known as the Edo period, a time when the military ideals of the samurai had faded, and when only a few still held on to the principals of the aristocratic warrior class.
“The Bamboo Sword and Other Samurai Tales” collects eight of Fujisawa’s short stories in this genre. It was the sixteenth collection selected for the Japanese Literature Publishing Project, a Government-funded project that encouraged the translation and publishing overseas of works of literature that were considered to be core to the understanding of the Japanese people and contributed to world culture. The title story of the collection, “The Bamboo Sword” became the basis for the Oscar-winning “Twilight Samurai.”
Instead of the great movers and shakers, the power players, Fujisawa focuses on the low-ranking pawns, the members of construction crews and horse groomers, those who technically held samurai status but without the money and prestige of their lords. He has the ability as an author to take us back into this time, to open the hearts of characters torn between their stated duties and the need for personal honor and integrity. There are comedic stories (All For a Melon) and touching stories (Kozuru), and stories of honor lost and regained (The Runaway Stallion).
Translator Gavin Frew has done and excellent job here, and deserves props as well. Like the very best of translated works, one quickly forgets that this was not originally written in English.
Every story in the collection is, in a world, brilliant, and some of the finest Japanese literature that I have ever read. I have been impressed by the recent movies I have seen based on Fujisawa’s work, and I am even more impressed by the original stories themselves.
The only sad footnote to this collection is the holder of the rights to the remainder of Fujisawa’s stories is refusing to allow translation and publication, for whatever reason. Hopefully, as the renaissance in Fujisawa-based samurai films continues to gain popularity in the West, they will see the benefit in releasing these beautiful works of fiction to an appreciative audience, regardless of nationality.
Irrashai!
