elements of it aren’t representative of Kurosawa’s work. Set in feudal Japan, “Throne of Blood” is Kurosawa’s take on Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” In this version, Toshirô Mifune plays a trusted general named Taketoki Washizu. After defeating a mutinous samurai in battle, Washizu and his friend and fellow general, Yoshiaki Miki
8 Reasons Why "Seven Samurai" is the Greatest Samurai Movie of All Time The 1950s are considered the Golden Age of Japanese cinema. The aftermath of World War II and particularly the atomic bomb, and the subsequent American occupation left the country scarred, but filled with inspiration and eagerness to start over. One of the most iconic films of this era is Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" one of the most influential movies of all time, and the basis for a plethora productions, with John Sturges’
History of Philippine Cinema Introduction The youngest of the Philippine arts, film has evolved to become the most popular of all the art forms. Introduced only in 1897, films have ranged from silent movies to talkies; black and white to color. Outpacing its predecessors by gaining public acceptance, from one end of the country to the other, its viewers come from all walks of life. Nationwide, there are more than 1000 movie theaters. Early in the 1980s, it was estimated in Metro Manila alone
Seven Samurai, directed and co-written by Akira Kurosawa is a grand tale and a pioneer film for its genre. The story takes place in 16th century Japan and focuses on a rag tag group of master less samurai known as 'Ronin' who ultimately come together to come to the aid of a poor farming village under the attack of plundering bandits. The film follows the farmers needing to find samurai who are willing to work for three meals of rice a day. They come across an elder samurai who accepts their offer
Akira Kurosawa's RAN In this explication of this movie RAN several items will be discussed. Culturally the movie will be critiqued on how the Japanese culture is shown throughout the movie, and the structure of how the characters progress throughout the movie. The conflict between characters will also be discussed in reference to the obstacles they face and how they deal with them. This movie deals mainly with loyalty and tradition (bushido), and how a traditional Japanese family handles not only
States trade. Soon, other nations such as Britain, Russia, and Holland won similar rights. The opening of Japan to the West created opposition among its people and in the 1860s political crisis came into the open. In 1866, civil war broke out. The samurai armed with the surplus of weapons from the American Civil War defeated the shogunate force. The civil war ended, when the victorious reform group proclaimed Mutsuhito, often called the “Meiji” meaning enlightened one, emperor. The new Meiji government
Commodore Matthew Perry: American Black Ships in the Land of the Samurai One hundred and fifty years ago, an American commodore was assigned by the American President to go to “the barbarian land.” The commodore’s name was Matthew Perry and the land was Japan (Walworth 18). He was curious enough to become interested in the mission, even though it was said that “the Japanese were the least interesting people in the world” at that time (Graff 63). Japan had been closed to the outside world
- A samurai deals openly and honestly with others and cleaves to the ideals of justice. Moral decisions do not come in shades of gray, only right and wrong. Courage - A samurai never fears to act, but lives life fully and wonderfully. Respect and caution replace fear. Benevolence - A samurai takes every opportunity to aid others, and creates opportunities when they do not arise. As a powerful individual, a samurai has a responsibility to use that power to help others. Respect - A samurai has no
Surrounded by a forbidding moat and impressively massive stone walls, the fortress known as the Castle of Nagoya lies within. To this day, the castle is one of the most impressive in all Japan. I can feel the impressiveness as I look up over 300 feet, and am unable to see the other side of the castle limits. It is no secret that the castle caused fear throughout the nation. Even today it attracts visitors from all over the world for its beauty and intellection of bringing history together. As
Two of Japanese most famous poets and authors of their time, Ki no Tsurayuki and Matsuo Bashou, are still important today for those same achievements. Both men wrote two well-known travel journals, and although they are labeled with the same title as “travel journal”, the two are very different. Ki no Tsurayuki wrote “Tosa Nikki,” around 936 in the Heian Period, and Matsuo Bashou, or simply Bashou, wrote “Oku no Hosomichi,” in 1689 in the Edo Period. The Heian Period seems more traditional whereas
The samurai were élite warriors in Japan during the 1200’s to the early 1700’s. Fifth century Japan saw conflicts with Korea and China, but Japan had a very untrained army, with a clumsy Calvary, and poor infantry men (Blumberg 1). The reason was that horses were seen as a burden and were never bred to be strong, fast, and large for war purposes (Blumberg 2). In the 6th and 9th centuries, a series of rebellions in Japan began from the Emishi people of the northern home islands; these country people
battle of Sekigahara in 1600 over the forces loyal to the house of Toyotomi (Gordon, 11). This was the last warrior clan to rule Japan, ending with the restoration of Imperial power in 1868 (O’Neill, 115). The warriors of this clan were known as samurai, a Japanese word meaning “one who serves”, the military elite that went on to establish themselves as the ruling class of military nobility over Japan from 1185-1868 (O’Neill, 106). They were also called bushi, another word for warrior (O’Neill, 108)
shaping of the samurai history and culture. The beliefs of self reliance and personal dependence were evident throughout samurai life. “The process of Japanese state formation and self identity in Japan have been intimately connected” (Ikegami 43). Not only did this sense of individualism affect samurai identity but Japan as a whole. The samurai class as a whole sought to be part of their own warrior class, or even a part of the upper class; anything but the commoner class. The samurai had individualistic
In 1868, the end to the Tokugawa Shogunate led to the formation of the Meiji Restoration which modified Japan’s political, economic, cultural, and social structures similar to the impact of the American and French Revolutions that shaped modern society. These revolutions lead to many different reformations that are distinct from one another. However, similarly they all contributed in shaping today’s modern environment. Many of these similarities and differences include political changes to military
Yamamoto, Tsunetomo Bushido: The Way of the Samurai Garden City Park, NY 2002 After reading this book it is my belief that it is important for Westerners to understand the seemingly strange concepts of Bushido, not only as a guide to events of the past, but as a primer for understanding the Japanese business mentality of today. The first thought that comes to mind when Japanese work ethic is hard working, no breaks, complete commitment to ones job. There may be a reason why Japan was able to rebuild
Mito the capital city of the Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, which is located in the northeast of the Kanto region, is an idyllic capital city surrounded by natural elements like water and the lush green landscapes. Even its name derived from nature. In ancient Japan, river tributaries and lakes were called `minato' or rather `mito'; hence the name for Mito city as it is situated between the Nara River and Lake Senba. Even the symbolicisms of the city revolve around nature. They have an official city
In 1868, after more than two centuries of self-imposed isolation, Japan finally begun to emerge into the modern world. The beginning of the 16th century saw the Tokugawa family awarded military control of Japan, and the introduction of an isolation policy on their behalf. During this period, starting in the 1630s and ending with the arrival of Matthew Perry in 1853, Japan had extremely limited contact with the outside world. Japanese culture and Japan’s internal economy continued to develop, however
Ninjas and samurais were Japan’s most feared warriors. Samurais and ninjas had different backgrounds and roots, they had their own style of combat and tactics, they used different weapons, they had different customs and rituals, and finally they were considered good or evil. Even thought they were very different they had some similarities because they were both warriors that developed unique fighting techniques to combat against enemies. Both ninjas and samurais are viewed as incredible warriors
Japan it was the samurai, and for Europe the knights. They both had religious beliefs such as Buddhism and Christianity. Japan was an island and was isolated, whereas Europe wasn’t isolated nor an island. Feudal Japan lasted from 1185-1603, while Feudal Europe lasted from the 9th to the 15th centuries. Japan lasted from 1185-1603. During that time Japan had emperors, shoguns, daimyos, samurai, and peasants who were all apart of a social class, and all together it was called the Samurai Society. The
Japanese history that were believed to be fearless in the face of death, they were the samurai. The samurai were a warrior class that gained immense power during feudal Japan. They held high status positions in society and exemplified the power of the shoguns. Samurai often faced death on the cruel battlefield of medieval Japan. However, most interesting about the samurai is their conception of death. The samurai not only faced death much more frequently than the average man but they also had a practice