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xifengYesterday was crappy. Since the cure for what ails you is samurai movies, I came home and watched Hara-Kiri, which I'd picked up at the library on account of my deep, pure, true love for samurai. The basic premise of the movie is this: rônin shows up at established house's headquarters and asks to be allowed to commit seppuku. Rather than just letting him do it, the retainers needle him and aggravate the holy living fuck out of him. Below, some incoherent and disjointed thoughts in no particular order.
1.) The scene where Chijiiwa Motome commits seppuku, with a bamboo sword (the real thing being in hock), is really uncomfortable to watch. (No doubt this was the intention, but still...) Motome spends much of his first appearance looking like he's going to throw up or pass out or both, which is fair enough, since the average samurai was taught how to commit seppuku but, like most people everywhere, didn't actually plan on using this knowledge.
2.) Some of the wounds look rather fakey, but given that this film was made in the '60s, that's only what you'd expect.
3.) I do wish people would stop using the word "clan" to translate the word han. It's not quite the same concept at play here; "clan", to me at least, implies people related by blood or marriage, which was not necessarily the case with a daimyo's retainers. Han translates more at "fief" than "clan", from what I understand, and politically I think that's a better word.
4.) Nakadai Tatsuya as Tsugumo Hanshiro has about the saddest eyes I've ever seen. Also, I could listen to him talk forever. I don't care if he's reading the back of a cereal box.
5.) Special (or Very Special, depending) note for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ukekenshin: Reference to my Lord Sakakibara! The Sakakibara have 110,000 koku, you know.
6.) Yazaki Hayato and Kawabe Umenosuke, retainers of the Ii household in the film, have the ability to make me yell at the screen, "Jesus, you stupid fucks! Don't you ever pay attention to your surroundings?! Aren't you supposed to be, oh, I don't know, swordsmen or sommat?" Incidentally, the reason it's embarrassing to have your chonmage taken is not because your hair is so bitchin' that it simply must remain on your head but because having your chonmage cut off is like saying, "Hi, I am so incompetent that I couldn't hold off an opponent but instead let him in close enough to wound me!"
7.) Check Tsugumo's totally bitchin' human shield.
8.) The final fight scene, where the younger lord orders his retainers to set on Tsugumo, is exhausting. Seriously, you watch Tsugumo take all these hits and, vastly outnumbered, fight to exhaustion. And you know that no matter how hard he fights, he's shat on: he's vastly outnumbered, the Ii will see an end to him, and he's not as young as he was once, so it's just a matter of when. Every time you think Tsugumo is finally going to go not-so-gently into that good night, he rallies and inflicts more damage on everyone. When he finally does decide to die--and he does decide to die, the movie's very clear on that point--it's almost a relief.
9.) Dig the symbolism when the Ii retainers go to clean up the famous red armor which represents their house.
Wheeee, I have a day off today! *dance*
1.) The scene where Chijiiwa Motome commits seppuku, with a bamboo sword (the real thing being in hock), is really uncomfortable to watch. (No doubt this was the intention, but still...) Motome spends much of his first appearance looking like he's going to throw up or pass out or both, which is fair enough, since the average samurai was taught how to commit seppuku but, like most people everywhere, didn't actually plan on using this knowledge.
2.) Some of the wounds look rather fakey, but given that this film was made in the '60s, that's only what you'd expect.
3.) I do wish people would stop using the word "clan" to translate the word han. It's not quite the same concept at play here; "clan", to me at least, implies people related by blood or marriage, which was not necessarily the case with a daimyo's retainers. Han translates more at "fief" than "clan", from what I understand, and politically I think that's a better word.
4.) Nakadai Tatsuya as Tsugumo Hanshiro has about the saddest eyes I've ever seen. Also, I could listen to him talk forever. I don't care if he's reading the back of a cereal box.
5.) Special (or Very Special, depending) note for
ukekenshin: Reference to my Lord Sakakibara! The Sakakibara have 110,000 koku, you know.6.) Yazaki Hayato and Kawabe Umenosuke, retainers of the Ii household in the film, have the ability to make me yell at the screen, "Jesus, you stupid fucks! Don't you ever pay attention to your surroundings?! Aren't you supposed to be, oh, I don't know, swordsmen or sommat?" Incidentally, the reason it's embarrassing to have your chonmage taken is not because your hair is so bitchin' that it simply must remain on your head but because having your chonmage cut off is like saying, "Hi, I am so incompetent that I couldn't hold off an opponent but instead let him in close enough to wound me!"
7.) Check Tsugumo's totally bitchin' human shield.
8.) The final fight scene, where the younger lord orders his retainers to set on Tsugumo, is exhausting. Seriously, you watch Tsugumo take all these hits and, vastly outnumbered, fight to exhaustion. And you know that no matter how hard he fights, he's shat on: he's vastly outnumbered, the Ii will see an end to him, and he's not as young as he was once, so it's just a matter of when. Every time you think Tsugumo is finally going to go not-so-gently into that good night, he rallies and inflicts more damage on everyone. When he finally does decide to die--and he does decide to die, the movie's very clear on that point--it's almost a relief.
9.) Dig the symbolism when the Ii retainers go to clean up the famous red armor which represents their house.
Wheeee, I have a day off today! *dance*
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no subject
Date: 2006-12-05 04:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-05 04:52 pm (UTC)(I was a classics major in college, incidentally, and have no formal background in Japanese history, so I probably have no business gritting my teeth at all.)
"Fief" isn't completely satisfactory (and neither is "household"); I think one reason I prefer it is to get away from the aforementioned connotations that "clan" has for me. I was going to say that one can make an argument (at least in the Tokugawa period) for a top-down structure, but now that I give it some thought I wonder if one can (feasibly) make such an argument. To some extent reciprocity was always expected, regardless of regime change.
Fun research project ahoy! :D
no subject
Date: 2006-12-05 05:02 pm (UTC)But I do understand about the clueless-white-person-mucking-it-all-up syndrome. That's partly why I decided to set my fantasy novel in a made up 'Oriental-feel' setting rather than unknowingly mess up some aspect of Japanese mythology and lore.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-05 05:07 pm (UTC)1.) Ouch, that must burn and sting. x_x; -Sage nod, crosses arms over tummy.- Still, it's not a ... um .... rusty spoon? D: Yeah.
6.) Gee, that sounds familiar. 8D;;; Ohohoho, I are so mature. -Dork pose.- Teh Idioteers to teh, um, well, not rescue, but maybe when they find their belts they'll be able to untangle themselves long enough to stand there and
look stupiddo something useful? Maybe? Yeah--er, then again maybe not. >_>;Nao: You forgot about me! Didn't you! I feel neglected. Why are there never any movies about onnagata, or ... -Pauses, glances down, glowers.- About that ... YOU STILL HAVEN'T FIXED ME. ~_~; -Incoherent, hormone-induced rantage.- >/!!!!!!
... o____O; Ohmygod, save me from teh pseudo-woman PMS of d00m! T_______T; -Clingsmore.-
no subject
Date: 2006-12-05 05:35 pm (UTC)1.) D00d, I clenched my stomach muscles watching. Also, that part built up the Ii Retainers Are Total Dicks theme. *sage nod*
6.) By the time the Idioteers disentangle themselves, Yukichi will have fled into the night. Unfortunately, being 6'1", he can't exactly fade into the background.
Dear Nao-chan: I did not forget about you. Yukichi pines for you daily
when he's not having his fun with Shirozaemon or trying to meet new people in the chatrooms. Also, I don't know if I would watch a movie about onnagata, because when I grow up I want to be a samurai.Also also, you will have to take the fixing-you issue up with Teh Cal, because s/he got you into that situation to begin with. :D
At least I just have Yukichi's Testosterone Of Doom to deal with. XDDDD
no subject
Date: 2006-12-05 05:41 pm (UTC)And I am on AIM! ... Sometimes, not much these days. >_>; Uh. -Snugglecling.- ♥?
no subject
Date: 2006-12-05 05:51 pm (UTC)BUT YYYYYY TEH CAL YYYYY. Y. IS IT BECAUSE I SMELL LIKE BUTT? ;o; *is snuggleclungto* ♥!
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAV, J0. XD
I ampersand hearts semicolon this post!
Date: 2006-12-06 04:53 am (UTC)The BitchKyo]Now that I'm not channeling my inner snobby transvestite, too long tucked away in mothballs (but he deserved it), I need to say that it's funny that I read this post while my World History class filled with cognitively defunct stereotypical Westerners - myself included - is studying our first unit that strictly deals with Japan. Nearly everyone is mucking it up fabulously, from not knowing anything about seppuku ("You mean they had to cut their own heads off?") to complaining that the pronunciations don't make sense (how hard is it to say Tale of Genji, not Jeen-jay?!).
I want to watch this movie now. I would almost like to show it to my class full of morons, but no, Mr. Bild has me bringing in Kurosawa's "Ran" to try to "shock them into the mood of feudal Japan." This makes me want to crawl into a burning building and fry to death.
I ampersand hearts semicolon my ukelette!
Date: 2006-12-06 06:20 am (UTC)That Fucking DickYukichi]I miss your inner snobby transvestite. We should get on AIM more often. After all, you promised me we'd get done with the story before we died, and we're getting one year closer to the grave here. ^_-
Ugh, the joys of dealing with simpletons. X-chan said "Tale of Jenji" once, but she was much younger and more amenable to letting people correct her pronunciation. We do say "main-ga" when we're alone, though. If I knew anything about the Kamakura shogunate, I would make some notes for you, but I don't. When you get to the Tokugawa, I will be delighted to babble from my vast collection of resources.
You should watch Hara-Kiri, because it is a good movie. However, you should not crawl into a burning building, because I don't want to be scorched whilst trying to get you out of it. Besides, Ran is totally bitchin' too.
Mmn, I'm not that eloquent. I just sort of froth and whatnot.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-06 12:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-06 10:13 pm (UTC)We must be 3v0l tw1ns. I loathe MSN. XD But yes, j00 should sign on (and block Wibble Troll or sommat if she bothers j00 XDDDD). I miss teh j00 HORRIBLY. I r pining away and refusing f00d :D
I ampersand hearts semicolon responding late!
Date: 2006-12-15 12:40 am (UTC)Kyo refuses to come out at the moment. Really, I can't summon the wit to write him. It's too difficult to type up something beyond a feeble, "Akita-san, when you - and your clan, as I assume they're all like you - summon some manners and class, perhaps I will trouble myself with hearing your adorably crass insults towards my own illustrious family." Of whom you (Yukichi) know nothing in the RP, if I remember.
These people are beyond simpletons in some ways. They think that "day-meows" warring against each other is idiotic, when Europe in the twelfth century was ever so much more enlightened. Whatever, kids. Their pronunciation burns, but worse is their narrow view of Japanese and all Asian cultures. "OMG that's awful!1!1!11! They have to educate women!" No, they don't, but you do have to zip it while I'm trying to present.
The movie was not well-received, as I anticipated. "I don't understand this movie, why's it so long, why's he wearing a dress? Why'd he banish that guy in blue? That's his son, right? They all look alike..." I like to believe the best of people, but these ones have proven that philosophy wrong, or rather, it makes me not believe anything but idiocy of them. Until they're proven innocent, that is.
Your froth and whatnot, then, are eloquent in comparison to my own bubbles of air filling a really thick skull. Don't deny it; it's the truth!
I ampersand hearts semicolon being Yukichi!
Date: 2006-12-15 01:25 am (UTC)To which Yukichi would then emit a window-rattling belch and scratch his balls in public, complete with digging motions and sighs of pleasure and relief. And, no doubt, remark that "it's so cute how Matsuda thinks he's being really scathing, isn't it?".
Yukichi knows nothing of Kyo's family other than that a.) Kyo is the youngest (he said as much in a journal comment) and b.) they want Kyo dead (for which Yukichi doesn't really blame them).
Oh, how I weep for historical perspective. Twelfth-century Japan was no better or worse than twelfth-century England; both were shaped by differing political and economic circumstances, as well as by differing intellectual and philosophical currents. There are some things that aren't cool in any time or place, but they have to be understood in their historical context if you want to make sense of a particular period. Even things that we think of as being set in stone, like bushido, are actually fairly fluid and subject to change depending on the era; leading texts such as the Hagakure (which in any case is not an accurate representation of bushido as it was practiced) are still, when't come to, the opinions of one individual.
And the people who think that you can divorce anything from its proper context are the people who think watching anime is a fabulous way to learn about Japanese culture. And I don't want any of them in my samurai game. (Because yes I do plan on running one.)
No, no it isn't. My biases are obvious, I'm afraid, and I froth on in ignorance of half the primary sources because I read no Japanese. Maybe you should study history, and then we can be decently married and be like Will and Ariel Durant. Except not in the '30s and '40s.