Samurai Armor Exhibit

During the fall of 2014 through the weekend of February 1st 2015 the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) hosted an exhibition of rare Samurai Armor to the thrill of throngs of visitors. Much of the armor was set in dramatic displays evoking the imagery of Kurosawa Samurai Classic Films yet in truth most of the armor displayed never saw any great battles at all. In fact, most of the armor displayed was made during the Edo Period after the last Siege at Osaka Castle meaning the closest any of these armor got to a battle was likely a parade or re-enactment.

All particulars aside, one could still appreciate the elaborate displays of uniquely crafted armor and helmet crests worn by prominent Samurai or Daimyo giving you a sense of what earlier armor might have looked like at events such as the great Battle at Sekigahara or the epic clashes between the Uesugi and Takeda Clans or that of the Oda Clan.

Behold this finely crafted helmet bearing the Mon of the Tokugawa Clan. This would be not unlike something worn by Ieyasu Tokugawa himself during battle.

While there were few weapons on display, what we could see displayed portrayed a high respect for it's owner. If these swords could talk, what would they tell us?

Note the Matchlock Arquebus on display which the Oda Clan made the most effective use of. With 3000 of these primitive rifles, the Oda Clan destroyed the greatest Cavalry ever seen by firing in cyclical fashion.

Not to be excluded were the presence of archers and their lethal quivers which the Samurai were Masters.

Such elaborate tools of the Samuri's Archery would make any modern day Kyudo master dream.

Note the detail of these helmets. Unfortunately, we were rushed as we took these photos so we could not provide you with details as to their origins. That being said we can tell you these were largely exclusively from the Edo Period of Peace.

 

 

 Note to the right face masks. There were more of them but we couldn't get good photos of them.

In this photo we see the Naginata which was more commonly used by foot soldiers or farmers conscripted to serve their lords in times of battle. To the right is a set of boy armor similar to what might have been worn by Katsuyori Takeda or Hidetsugu Toyotomi.

 This one made me think of Takeda Shingen. Kagamusha Anyone?

 Peacetime or not, you would not would have wanted to cross swords with these Samurai.

Who is to say what attachment the wearer and the armor may have had. 

You could not help but feel the presence of these Samurai still at their posts waiting to fight and if necessary die for their Lord.

 I could see one the faces of visiting Nihonjin and Nisei a sense of pride as they looked on and explained this period of their history to their children. Even for a Hakujin, we were awed by the might of the Samurai Display.

We at American Mishima are thankful to both LACMA and the Government of Japan for allowing us to enjoy this awesome display into a window of Japan's Medieval past.

ども ありがとう ございます!

Samurai Nobility and The Sword of Desperation

In our last article commemorating the 4^th Battle of Kawanakajima, we discussed the notion of Samurai Nobility. Such ideals written after the Sengoku Jidai or Warring States Period were not lost onto the peaceful Edo Period. Rather, the bar was somewhat raised in the matter best illustrated in the works such as the Hagakure and Yojokun and that of the actions of the 47 Ako Ronin. It is often said by those of us who lived during the Cold War of the 20^th Century that it was easier because you knew who your enemies were unlike today. Much like the Edo Period of Japan, peaceful times are only an illusion if not a luxury of those unconcerned about the world around them for there are always plots and planners of chaos to be told. One could only imagine such logic be it or real or perceived could have both existed and played out in the cruelest of terms behind the partitions and sliding doors of the Edo Period. As such, Treachery, and Samurai Nobility have made for our feature film we have chosen to present you the 2010 Toei Studios Samurai Drama: The Sword of Desperation. 

In the fictional fiefdom of the Unasaka Clan, the powerful Daimyo Tabu Ukyou ( played by Jun Murakami) lives an opulent lifestyle that one could say rivals that of the Shogun. Complete with an inner sanctum he is swayed into the manipulations of his consort Renko (played by Megumi Seki) whose capricious whims have driven the Unasaka Clan to near financial ruin. Having the Clan's best swordsman Obiya Hayatonosho (played by Kikkawa Koji ) failed mission to reason with the Daimyo, cruelty and oppression is levied against the farmers and those serving his lordship under the indignities and falsehoods of the evil Renko. As the last straw is drawn following the execution of farmers who threatened to report the Daimyo's excesses to Edo, it is up to the Captain of the Infantry Sanzaemon Kanemi (played by Toyokawa Etsushi) to take matters into his own hands and save his clan by assassinating Renko.

In a tale of treachery and great self sacrifice, Director of the Oba The Last Samurai Hirayama Hideyuki brings us Hisshiken Torisashi aka The Sword of Desperation. In the great tradition of Samurai films such as The Twilight Samurai and The Hidden Blade, The Sword of Desperation reveals the idealized Samurai nobility that emphasizes the nature of what it was to be of the Samurai Warrior Caste in the mid Edo Period of Japan which was to serve to one's Clan and to one's Lord. Such loyalty as seen in this film is not the sole domain to one's lordship but to that other Samurai virtue of being Just with Absolute Sincerity. As revealed, the story does not end with the assassination of the evil Renko but continues on to reveal the nature of Captain Sanzaemon Kanemi who had previously lost his wife Mutsue to illness and sought to look out for the future of Mutsue's niece Satoo (played by Ikewaki Chizuru) who has come to care for him during his period of house arrest. 

 

As such the device in recent Samurai classics, Sanzaemon is the holder of a secret invincible technique known as “Bird Spearing or the Sword of Desperation.” Without giving away the entire movie here we will just say that the treachery and manipulations do not end with Renko's death for situations and plots come to a crescendo complete with realistic sword fighting where the true manipulators are revealed whose betrayal is put to the test. As anyone who loves Bushido in action, we guarantee, you will not be disappointed.

 

We shall continue our series on Samurai Nobility and other topics on American Mishima that are featured in other films from Japan. We highly recommend The Sword of Desperation and feel it will compliment any Samurai Film Library. If you are unable to find this film for rent, you can acquire an inexpensive copy of The Sword of Desperation complete with English Subtitles and other great Samurai films through our friends over at Japanese Samurai DVD. Until then, please watch this trailer and enjoy!

"Samurai Sword Attack" in Los Angeles? なに?

It’s happened again here in the City of Angeles. Another man has made headlines for using a Samurai Sword in an act of senseless violence. A 34 year old African-American man by the name of Steven Hill has been accused of attacking three of his coworkers at Ultima DVD with what the news has repeatedly called a “Samurai” styled sword and fatally killing one of them. I about cringed when I saw the graphic on the morning news displaying a Japanese Katana with the bold headline reading “Sword Attack!” ‘Oh please don’t let it be a Samurai sword!’ I exclaimed. Seriously how do they know it was a Samurai Sword? ばか! But to no avail, the news had spread all over the local networks of the disgruntled porno actor / photographer who on the verge of being fired from the Van Nuys porno company for acting inappropriately with his subjects reached for a bladed prop weapon and lunged at his coworkers before escaping. The media had instantly jumped to conclusions. Ok, so it wasn’t a crazy white guy with a katana but still why couldn’t he used a baseball bat, broadsword, claymore, fencing foil, or a even a freaking flyswatter? Oh but no! Not here! It just gets worse as details rolled in.

It’s been a little over two years since former Scientologist Mario Majorksi pulled up to the Hollywood Scientology Celebrity Center (two blocks from where I live) and rushed security guards with two Samurai Swords resulting in his own fatal shooting and more bad press for those who are respectfully on the path of the sword, namely Bushido where the Japanese Samurai sword is revered. The media always describes them as crazed swordsmen. Men who commit these acts are not real swordsmen or martial artists. The people who commit these crimes may just angry who for whatever reason chose the katana as their weapon of choice. But are they really using katana? The LAPD in both instances failed to disclose any photographs of the alleged Japanese Swords. Convenient or is there something else going on here? According to the Huffington Post the weapon was a machete-type prop weapon not a Samurai Sword.

I was happy to see how the Huffington Post went into detailed coverage specificly identifying the alleged weapon as a machete-type prop used for porn production instead of a katana. But five minutes later just as I was in the process of giving the Huffington Post praise they posted this picture seen here to the right reinforcing this image of a mad man weilding a Samurai Sword. Come on guys! A Machete bears no resemblance to a Samurai Katana. You can do better! Seriously!

Bad press like this is never good particularly in the knee-jerk reactionary culture we live in. This just leads to more trouble for those of us who train with swords responsibly. I can personally attest to this experience when my attorney had to argue over the non-lethal properties of my own Iaito sword that was briefly confiscated by the LAPD then later returned. I do have certificates certifying my skill as a swordsman by a world-renown instructor and that I do attend a licensed Shinkage hence I know what I am talking about. More so than mister baldheaded steroid pumping man with the shiny badge pointing a taser gun at me for possessing non-lethal practice weapons but because of bad press like this, this is what it has come down to.

The local news can’t seem to agree if this was a machete attack or a sword attack thus illustrating the high level of ignorance when it comes to swords and those who use them. This is still an on going situation so the jury is still out as to what the final conclusions will be. In the days of the Samurai one could become a hero or a villain. But in this day and age, ignorance will sadly rule supreme. My main concern is that there will once again be calls to enact legislation to make ownership of swords illegal. I hope it never comes to that. In Japan, one needs a permit to carry a sword that is issued to you if you are a collector, historical re-enactor, or a Shinkage Student. I wouldn’t be opposed to having something like that here for it would keep the crazies from using katana in violent incidents or seriously decrease such. Ah but of course that probably wouldn’t work here given the lack of education that exists in the City of Angeles. It would be a total disaster if someone assumed such authority that did not come from a Martial Arts background. So there you go.

I personally deplore violence especially when one uses a sword as his weapon against unarmed victims. My years of hard training in the safe handling and responsibility takes personal offense to it. It just shows the perpetrator as having neither respect for the sword or for himself. It's sad that a person was killed in this manner and just has bad that there were people injured. But just the same goes for the damaged reputation of the Samurai Sword and for those who properly use them. I hope in future such instances a distinction is made between those who train and respect the sword from those who recklessly abuse it. The media should report these incidents with a level of responsibility that we expect of them to provide. The Samurai once served the people it protected. Today those who train in their arts treat these instruments with reverence and high respect. To own Samurai swords in a country that does not have a sword wielding cultural identity is not an indication that you are crazy or in danger of committing violent acts. But until people act responsibly, one can expect the reactionary backlash in the media and things will sadly remain the same. This is just one swordsman's view.



See! Even with the newly added  surveillance video it still looks like he is carrying a machete!