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!

Sengoku Jidai - Commemorating the 4th Battle of Kawanakajima

In the history of great rivalries, none compare to that of Takeda Shingen of Kai and Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo during the Sengoku Jidai - The Warring States Period. During the year 1561, the Takeda and Uesugi Clans massed their armies and battled on the Kawanakajima plain in Shinano near present day Nagano. To date, there have been many films and Taiga Drama (television) that depicted this pivotal battle which is still studied by military colleges around the world to this day. From the folding screen photo one can see Uesugi Kenshin (left) attacking Takeda Shingen (center). The Uesugi Clan lost over 3000 men and the Takeda 4000 men with no clear winner. For all their battles, much of their wars ended in a draw. But in the end the two rivals had deep admiration and respect for each other. During one such famous moment, The Takeda of Kai had been the subject of a salt boycott which at that time was the only means of preserving food. Uesugi Kenshin ordered his men to send a secret caravan of horses carrying a stabilizing supply of the preservative to save his arch rival. Uesugi Kenshin was quoted "Wars are to be won with swords and spears, not with rice and salt." In that instance, Uesugi Kenshin exemplified the standard for Samurai Nobility. It is difficult to imagine the scope and scale of these 100,000 man armies of the Warring States Period. As Takeda fans, we at American Mishima often promote films from of the Takeda. But one of the better films we can recommend of these two great rivals which in particularly depicts a somewhat romanticized vision of the Uesugi Clan and the violence of the Battles at Kawanakajima can be seen in the following clip from the 1990 Cinematic Masterpiece Ten to Chi to - or as they call it here: HEAVEN & EARTH 

It is truly a majestic film capturing The Warring States Period in all it's scope and grandeur. But don't take our word for it. See it for yourself and become immersed in the great historical dramas of the Sengoku Jidai! Enjoy!

一日の画像 - Picture of the Day

Seen here are the paired bronze statues of the famous duel between Takeda Shingen of Kai and Uesugi Kenshin.of Echigo at Hachimanbara Historical Park in Nagano depicting the 4th Battle of Kawanakajima that took place in 1561. In that battle, the Uesugi forces reached the Takeda command post where Uesugi Kenshin himself stormed in on horseback, attacking the seated Takeda Shingen who being caught off guard held Kensin off with only his signalling fan. Amazing but true! Takeda held out long enough for his retainer Hara Osumi-no-Kami to spear Kenshin's horse and drive him off. You just can't make stuff like this up! The two rivals would continue to fight on but in the end had great admiration for each other. It is said that when Takeda died, Kenshin wept and declared that there will never be another warlord like him. For this and many other reasons, these two will always be our favorite two warlords of the Sengoku Jidai - The Warring States Period.

ばか! Bad Taste or Just Bad Judgement?

Oh Merde! Here we go again! Last year on American Mishima we made a post about a small group of unruly fans in South Korea using the Tohoku Disaster of 3/11 as a way to get at visiting Japanese Soccer teams.For those not familiar with what goes on in Football-aka Soccer, Heckling from Soccer Supporters be it the good, the bad, and the utterly tasteless is just part Football Culture. But sometimes people go too far and a line gets crossed. Well this week in France after Japan's National Team the Samurai Blue defeated the French National Team 1-0, France 2 host Laurent Ruquier stirred that pot of controversy once again with this Photoshopped picture of Goal Keeper Eiji Kawashima calling it the "Fukushima Effect." Naturally this drew protest from both the Japanese Government and Japan's Football Federation. The France 2 host in his defense explained he was merely offering Kawashima praise. Praise or racism? We can't tell what Ruquier's real motivations were. While we don't speak anything beyond a few basic greetings learned in high school French class, chances are this didn't get many laughs over there. While no country likes to lose on their home turf, comparing a 1-0 WC Qualifier or a International "It's Not Friendly" to a tragedy on the scale of the Tohoku Disaster which killed over 20,000 people is just not cool. While this is just one man's opinion criticizing another, in fairness we will note that the French Media and that in Belgium have regarded Ruquier's actions as purely bad taste. ばか!

一日の画像 - Picture of the Day

Today at 1:40PM ET, Expedition 33 of the International Space Station, Crew Member Aki Hoshide of Japan and Commander Sunita Williams of the United States opened Space X Dragon Cargoship’s hatch, successfully delivering a half ton of supplies one day ahead of schedule.

アメリカの政治 - George Takei's Emotional Appeal to Asian-Americans

We've always been a fan of George Takei and have appreciated his continued activism. In case you do not know, Star Trek Alumni George Takei is a well known for being a public advocate for Gay Rights. What surprisingly many people living in the United States and elsewhere still do not know is that as an American Born Nisei (1st generation person born in America of Japanese decent), he has provided countless accounts of his childhood experience of having soldiers arrive at his family's home to force his parents to surrender their home. business, and all their worldly possessions that could not fit into a single suitcase that they would be allowed to carry aboard trains at the point of a gun to some unknown concentration camp where they would be forced to live behind barbed wire and machine guns manned by soldiers pointed at them. Sounds like a WWII movie? Sadly this really happened.

The problem with this story is that it did not happen in Nazi-Occupied Europe at the hands of the Hitler's SS. Instead, it happened here in the City of Los Angeles by our own American Soldiers wearing the patch bearing our beloved stars and stripes right here in the good ole' US of A in what could be best described as one of the darkest and shameful chapters of American History since the Trail of Tears that is rarely discussed or even mentioned in most American textbooks. For this reason Takei-sama he speaks directly to Asian-Americans urging them with his reasons why not blow off this 2012 Presidential Election and Get Involved. His emotional plea illustrates what sacrifices and accomplishments Asian-Americans of all cultures matter. It does not matter that you are on a side that we at American Mishima agrees with. What does matters is that you do not blow off this important election. But don't take our endorsement for it. Let the man who gave you Hikuru Sulu tell you why as an Asian-American or an American of any persuasion tell you himself. Please watch kudasai.

戦争映画 - A Real Officer and a Movie of the Man Called Fox

Earlier last November of 2011, we wrote you a brief introduction to the latest Toho Studios War Epic 太平洋の奇跡−フォックスと呼ばれた男− (Translated The Miracle of the Pacific, The Man Called Fox) aka Oba The Last Samurai (See Oba Preview). Thanks to our man Eddie over at Samurai DVD we can now present you with a detailed description of the film and of the remarkable real life story behind the film.

The man the US Marines would call "Fox," Captain Oba Sakae was a school teacher who taught geography before becoming an officer in the Japanese Imperial Army. Assigned to the 18th Infantry, he was deployed at the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in Manchugo (Manchuria) in 1937. He had left for war with a wife named Mineko and an unborn son he would possibly never see. As the Japanese Empire began to collapse, the 18th Infantry was re-deployed from Manchugo to the Pacific when the ship he was aboard the Sakito-maru was torpedoed by the American Submarine USS. Trout. The ship sank with over half of the 18th Regiment. Captain Oba was among those lucky enough to have survived and reach the shores of Saipan. Having lost half his regiment, Captain Oba was placed in charge of a combat medical unit when 70,000 US Marines landed at Saipan battering the 30,000 Japanese defenders. Once again, Oba had managed to survive but his troubles were not over yet. As the situation on Saipan had deteriorated, the Japanese commanders were informed that the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy was destroyed and Saipan was to be abandoned. With no rescue in sight, their officers committed suicide and left the remaining junior officers to make one last Banzai charge insuring complete destruction of their forces. Over 4300 Japanese Soldiers died killing 2000 US Marines yet somehow Oba survived again. In July 9th, 1944. The USMC commander declared Saipan pacified. The only problem was someone forgot to tell Captain Oba.

Having survived the sinking of the Sakito-maru, the US Marine invasion, and final Banzai charge, Oba had found it was his responsibility to live and continue the fight. With 46 surviving men, he gathered the remaining 200+ Japanese Civilians still left on the island and moved deep into the jungles evading capture. This of course frustrated the American Commander who was bent on capturing the "Fox" who had been fighting a guerrilla styled hit and run campaign of resistance. In the end, Captain Oba held out for over 512 days after the last Banzai charge. He had refused to surrender until December of 1945 and only on the sole condition that he be ordered by the Imperial High Command to do so.  Frustrated, the Americans had to fly in former Saipan commander Major General Umahachi Amō to deliver the orders to surrender. Having recieved his final orders, Captain Oba complied and marched in regimental order with full military honors to present his sword & colors to Lt. Colonel Howard Kurgis.

Captain Oba would return home to Japan to see his son for the first time. His son was nine years old before he would meet his father. When you hear of present day war deployment stresses on families, one can not begin to imagine what these Japanese Soldiers and their families went through not seeing each other for years at a time. Captain Oba would go on to have a long successful career as a company spokesman for a department store and city council member before his passing in 1992. What is remarkable about this little known story is how this story came about. A former US Marine by the name of Don Jones who was once ambushed by Oba's men became fascinated with his story and tracked him down in post war Japan. With Oba's cooperation, Jones would go on to write his story and the two became life long friends. Even more remarkable was that Jones would later track down former Lt. Colonel Howard Kurgis and convinced him to give back the sword Oba had surrendered. The sword is now an Oba family heirloom. We are thankful to Don Jones for not only writing this remarkable true story but also Oba's second son Hisamitsu who discovered  over 1200 pages, letters, and postcards of correspondence. He was so moved by his fathers letters who sought out a publisher and produced the novel Miracle of the Pacific the Man called Fox to which made it possible for a full length feature film to come out of it in 2010.

While the sinking of the Sakito-Maru is not mentioned in the film Oba The Last Samurai, we join the film recreating the real life events on Saipan just before the final Banzai charge. Played by Yukata Takenouchi, we revisit the desperate days following the annihilation of the Japanese garrison at Saipan. This film also stars Mao Inoue in the prominent civilian role of camp medic. She is tasked with tending to both the sick & wounded on an island with no natural water source. Other Japanese actors recreate the hardships of the many civilians that his out with Oba's men and those sequestered in the American camps. Daniel Baldwin plays Saipan's first enigmatic gung-ho  Marine commander who sought to hunt and destroy the remaining Japanese on Saipan. Veteran actor Treat Williams would later play Kurgis the more mild mannered commander who replaces Baldwin.

Williams portrayal of Kurgis is done with a level of reason mostly due to the efforts of the Captain Lewis played by Sean McGowan. US Marine Captain Lewis is a man who spent two years in Japan prior to the war and is well versed if not sympathetic to Japanese Culture. He speaks fluent Japanese and is the only one who understands the Bushido mindset the Japanese operate under.
   

 

As a writer and aspiring novelist I enjoyed the addition of the Captain Lewis character. He provides insights into Japanese culture not only to his commanders but to the movie going audiences as well. His character also plays the good side of our US Servicemen. In war they say there is good and bad on both sides to any conflict. The Captain Lewis character does just that and in doing so he helps bridge the cultural divide between himself and Captain Oba whose motivations both baffle and frustrate the Marines. There are many human scenes that Yukata Takenouchi would play out. His portrayal of Captain Oba is most outstanding in it's realism and human dignity Takenouchi brings to the character. It is throughout the film in small gestures and selfless sacrifice that Oba comes through as a modern man free of the feudalistic thought that left no room for the living. Takenouchi brings this to life as one could imagine the real Oba Sakae did during thier 512 day  campaign of resistance and survival. As Japan comes to terms with it's war time past in the form of recent big budget movies, this is one film of not only one remarkable man but of two who saved lives in a time when the philosophy of war guaranteed no survival or consideration of those left living. It is one thing to take responsibility for failure by commuting hari-kiri but a larger and even greater task to show greater leadership in the face of certain defeat and continue living.

We at American Mishima admire Captain Oba and the efforts of those both real and fictional who helped bring this story to the world. 

 

We hope that in time, Oba and his 46 men will be remembered with such honor as another 47 Ronin are celebrated today. Think about it. 47 Japanese Soldiers outwitting over 47,000 US Marines for 512 days!

  

 But don't take my word for it. Please see this movie and enjoy.