Brief Plot Recap

**I’ll try to keep this as spoiler free as possible, but I’m going to assume that you’ve at least read my previous post on the movie or are familiar with the story of the 47 Ronin. If you haven’t seen the film and don’t want to have anything potentially be ruined, read on with care**

So the three main characters of the film are played by some entertaining actors. The main bad guy, Kira, is played by Tadonobu Asano and the main good guy, Oishi, is played by Hiroyuki Sanada. These are two of my all time favorite Japanese actors (which I wrote about a little while ago) so it was really cool to see them in the same film.

But, of course, the main star is a Hollywood star, Keanu Reeves. Keanu plays the character known as Kai, the “half breed” who ends up being the hero of the story, and also the one that gets the girl (of course).

For those unfamiliar, the basic story behind the 47 Ronin tells of a group of 47 masterless samurai in 18th century Japan who avenge the death of their master. Their master was disgraced, and their land and honor taken from them. They follow the code of the bushido to avenge their master’s death and as a consequence, all of them die. It is one of Japan’s greatest tales.

In the original tale, Oishi leads the ronin in their revenge, but in this Hollywood adaptation, he more or less shares that responsibility with Keanu Reeve’s character Kai, who in turn takes most of the limelight. The movie also introduces exciting supernatural fantasy elements, such as demons.

A Review

“Do people like our movie?” “No… no they don’t.”

Like I said before, I went into the film with high hopes and low expectations. My expectations were not exceeded. My favorite parts about the movie were probably all the neat colors and interesting costumes. The movie itself just wasn’t that exciting.

I was really disappointed because the actual tale of the 47 Ronin is just so darn cool. I was hoping that with an all-star cast and the introduction of cool fantasy elements, they’d really be able to make a great movie adaptation here. Unfortunately they did not.

Critics really dislike the film and the general consensus is that they were just disappointed, especially given the names and talent involved. Tadanobu Asano and Hiroyuki Sanada are both great actors. People have mixed feelings about Keanu, but I’ve always liked the guy. Unfortunately the scripting for 47 Ronin left them all with unexciting, relatively one dimensional roles to play.

The film was also widely reported as a financial failure with estimated losses hovering around the $175 million mark. That’s like, really, really bad.

Here are some Rotten Tomato quotes I think best sum up the reception of the movie.

Solemn as a funeral march, humorless as your junior high principal, as Japanese as a grocery-store California roll, Keanu Reeves’s let’s-mope-about-and-kill-ourselves samurai drama has exactly three things going for it.
-Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice

With a better hand this could have been something glorious and grand. As it is, 47 Ronin is solid B-movie entertainment with a $175 million budget.
-Kristy Puchko, CinemaBlend.com

47 Ronin is murky, muddled and leaden, although it’s not quite the unmitigated disaster it’s been cracked up to be.
-Xan Brooks, Observer [UK]

Mildly entertaining and gorgeous to look at, 47 Ronin has little beneath the surface to recommend it. There are a few good fights, though.
-Roth Cornet, IGN Movies

Japanese Demons in the Film

One of the most exciting potentials of this film was its inclusion of mythological creatures. I was curious how they would handle these in the film, and after viewing it, I think they did a relatively unimpressive job. We’ve written about Japanese creatures before, so I was interested in exploring how the portrayal of them in this film compared with what’s traditional.

Kitsune

See the resemblance?

The main creatures included in the film are a witch (possibly a kitsune) and some tengu. The witch lady is never called a kitsune (magical foxes that can take on human form), but it is first shown as a fox, so that was my first impression of it.

The kitsune witch has become Kira’s sidekick. Kitsune are commonly portrayed as lovers as well as tricksters, so this fits in with the movie’s portrayal. The witch is playing tricks on everyone to further her and Kira’s agenda. It’s unclear in the movie if they’re actually lovers, but at the very least, they are companions. Who’s really in control between the two of them is unclear.

While the witch in the film uses magic and kitsune are magical creatures, the witch’s magic seems a bit out of the realm of the traditional kitsune. The witch in the film also transforms into different forms and creatures, such as a dragon. This leads me to believe that she wasn’t actually a kitsune, or the directors just took some real liberties with how kitsune behave.

All in all, the transformations didn’t make a lot of sense (assuming she was a kitsune). That being said, what do you expect from Hollywood, after all?

Tengu

Keanu Reeve’s character is raised by tengu in the film. Traditional tengu are incredibly popular supernatural creatures found in Japanese folklore, art, theater, and literature. They’re one of the best known mythological creatures in Japan and are sometimes even worshiped as Shinto kami. Tengu were originally thought to be birdlike, and they are traditionally depicted with both human and avian characteristics.

The earliest tengu were pictured with beaks, but this feature has since modernized into an unnaturally long nose, which is undoubtedly their defining characteristic today.

Buddhist dogma long held that the tengu were disruptive demons who brought both violence and death. However, their image gradually softened into protective, if still dangerous, spirits of the mountains and forests.

Their main role in the film is to provide weapons to the 47 ronin after Kai and Oishi prove themselves. The way the tengu look in the film is unlike any depiction I’d ever seen of them and I was confused as to why they would alter them in this way.

As you can see from the photo below, the tengu from the movie does not look like a traditional tengu. None of their typical features or characteristics are reflected in the film. Its face is totally different. Why would they alter its nose? The tengu’s most recognizable feature? Beats me.

Can you spot the differences?

Other than that, I felt like the film’s depiction of tengu was surprisingly accurate. Tengu have been described as creatures associated with war and were known to possess great knowledge in the art of skilled combat. Legend also tells of a famous warrior called Minamoto no Yoshitsune whose father was assassinated by the Taira clan. One day he encountered some mountain tengu and they taught him the art of swordsmanship to assist in his vengeance against the Taira.

This all fits in well with the tengu raising Kai and teaching him how to fight like a supernatural being. It also makes decent sense that they would be able to provide the ronin in the film with weapons after they passed a goofy test. Overall, I was pleased with the movie’s depiction of tengu. It’s what’s on the inside that counts, right?

All in All

“What’d you say about my movie?”

Throughout this review of The 47 Ronin, I think I’ve been pretty nice. I’d like to sum it up by saying that this movie is not worth your money. Since the best parts of the film (in my opinion) are the visuals, it would probably be best experienced on a cinema screen, but I don’t think it’s worth the admission.

I also think that the more you know about the original 47 Ronin story and the more you know about Japan and Japanese myth, the more you will enjoy this film. If you don’t know much about the original tale or are totally clueless concerning Japanese folklore/myth, some parts of the movie might be a bit confusing.

The movie is entertaining enough for one viewing, but really, it’s not a good film. If you don’t expect much, you’ll be able to enjoy it for what it is, even if it’s not much more than pretty colors and nifty visuals. The fight scenes ain’t too bad either.

Final Verdict: 4 Mr. Andersons

It’s All Relative

As it turns out, there are lots of people out there who don’t speak any Japanese at all! So over the summer, I put on my big-girl suit (I don’t remember, it probably wasn’t a suit) and finally managed to convince some poor fool to pay me to translate Japanese for them. By which I mean I went to go talk to the curator of a private collection of samurai armor in my city and tried really, really hard to sound like I knew what I was talking about. I was actually asking for a job… but instead I was asked to translate papers that sometimes came with the armor they purchased (turns out the curator only speaks French).

Now I work a completely separate, full-time job, and every once in a while I get a request to translate documents (mostly auction materials) for this collection, which I do in the evenings. So although I’m getting paid, I’m not sure I would consider myself a professional translator. But since I’m sure there are plenty of Japanese students out there who have something they want to translate (books, manga, song lyrics, whatever), I thought I’d share my approach. I’d also love to hear what other people do, because frankly I’m pretty new at this.

*The collection I translate for will remain nameless for privacy reasons and because I don’t want anybody to steal my job.

Getting Ready To Translate

After dinner, I sit down to work. I open the e-mail, and take a moment to freak out when I can’t read anything on the page. Honestly, these articles should be considered way above my level, but this is the kind of situation where you “fake it ‘till you make it”.

The first thing I have to do is convert the images my client sends me into text. (Standard practice is to charge by the character, so at the very least I need it for an accurate character count). I can try a text-converting program or just type everything up myself, depending on the quality of the image. This time my client has sent me both the image and the converted text (plus a botched Google translation, to remind me that she needs me). I copy and paste the text into a Google Doc and prepare my workspace.

This involves opening several tabs: Google Translator, Jisho.org, and Kotobank.jp. I also turn Rikaichan on in my browser, which is especially useful because I can wave my mouse over any word in the Google Doc to get a definition. If this seems like cheating to you, wait a little while and you’ll see why I don’t waste time on relatively common vocabulary.

1. Rough Draft

Remember this: the key is just to get English on the page.

Now that it’s time to actually start translating, I wave my mouse over the first unfamiliar word (unfortunately, it’s the title of the article). Uh-oh. Rikaichan is only defining the individual characters. “Iron earth” is not an acceptable description for a helmet, so I copy and paste the phrase into Google Translator.

Still no good. Jisho and Kotobank don’t give me anything either so I put a star next to this and move on.

I spend 15 minutes trying to find the meaning of 車患 before I look at the original image and realize the text converter has badly misread 鯱. This is why you always need to double-check converted text. I go through and correct all of the misread kanji before continuing. (鯱, by the way, is しゃちほこ/shachihoko, a mythical dolphin/whale/fish thing. Nagoya Castle is famous for the two golden shachihoko on its roof).

鯱の胴体部は背を中心に鉄薄板に鱗を打出した二枚を左右から合わせ
形成し、これに眉庇を兼用する鯱の頭部の鬼面を被せ…
For the body of the dolphin / in the middle of the back / in iron lacquer / two plates with embossed fish scales / join on the left and right to take form / these scales also serve as mabisashi / and the dolphin’s head / covers a demon’s mask

Unlike English, the Japanese language does not frown upon run-on sentences. I think they would actually rather add modifiers to an existing sentence than make a new one if the subject of the sentence is the same. For this first draft I am trying to stay as close to the original Japanese meaning as possible, so I separate ideas with “/”. Later I will rearrange everything to make more sense with English grammar.

A lot of words I come across are jargon, specific to ancient Japanese armor. They either don’t appear in a Japanese-English dictionary or have a second, more common meaning. That’s when I go to Kotobank, a Japanese-Japanese dictionary, to find the more obscure definition. You can do this even if you still have a lower vocabulary level, because all you have to do is use Rikaichan on words you don’t know.

The key to getting this far is making educated guesses about the meanings you don’t know. If you’re still not sure you understand, you can try a search using the romanization of the word (in this case, マビサシ comes out to mabisashi). You might find something like this:

Number 12 is “Forehead plate – mabisashi (眉庇). Mystery solved! Thanks Wikipedia.

Everything I’ve written about so far has taken place in the first sentence of the text! Granted, it’s a run-on sentence that takes up most of the first paragraph, but you can see why this might take a while. And that was just the first draft–it has English words but makes no real sense in English. Plus, there were several words (I’m looking at you, 鉄地) that I couldn’t translate the first time around. Hopefully they’ll make more sense as I figure out the context that they are written in.

2. Second Draft

An English sentence like the one below isn’t exactly easy to understand:

For the body of the dolphin / in the middle of the back / in iron lacquer / two plates with embossed fish scales / join on the left and right to take form/ these scales also serve as mabisashi / and the dolphin’s head / covers a demon’s mask / on the left and right / large scales and koshimaki boards / are hammered into place with rivets.

This is actually where Google Translate is the most helpful, believe it or not.

Okay, so a key part of Google’s translating algorithm is based off of statistical survey of websites and documents that are written in multiple languages. The algorithm compares the English version with the Japanese (or Spanish, or Arabic) version to see how the words correspond. If, in several different sources, 日本 (nihon) corresponds with “Japan”, then that is how Google will translate it. The program is getting more sophisticated over time, and it can now recognize some common grammatical structures. This means that I can sometimes put a chunk of text into Google translator to see how the grammar is most commonly translated.

I’ll go ahead and use a different (shorter) sentence. Here, “鬼面の眼球には鍍金板が嵌入され” comes out to “Plating plate is fitted to the eye of the devil mask”. Uh… yeah, that doesn’t make sense. But I already figured out in my first draft that “in the eyeball of the kimen (a special armor term) / gilt strips are inlaid”. So now I can write “Gilt strips are fitted to the eye of the kimen”. That makes sense, right? This isn’t a foolproof method, but as one of several references, it can be helpful. I go through the whole first draft like this, to get a working English version. Sometimes I do a third draft as well.

3. Cleaning Up

Translating is more of an art than a science. The articles I translate need to be functional, because my client is trying to understand more about the piece of armor. There may be phrases I don’t understand (what the heck is 鉄地?!) and I need to come up with a reasonable guess. In the case of 鉄地 I decide to ignore the 地 (chi, earth) character because I thought “iron helmet” was more to the point, and “iron earth helmet” would have just been confusing. If I’m particularly concerned about something, I’ll include “Notes” in my translation. For instance, once a passage had several typos, including a wrong date and a wrong location. I translated the information as it was written, and corrected it in the Notes.

As a last resort, sometimes I just have to ask a native speaker of Japanese. There are lots of things I don’t know because I didn’t grow up in Japan, so if I absolutely can’t figure something out myself (whether a given location is, in fact, a typo, for instance) I’ll get in touch with one of my Japanese friends.

Waiting for the moment that you understand absolutely everything perfectly means never using your Japanese. Whether it’s for fun or for profit, it’s a good idea to take chances and use your Japanese, whatever level you’re at. Even if it didn’t have the added benefit of improving your Japanese, it’s rewarding to actually use a skill you’ve worked so hard to get.

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Bonus Wallpapers

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47 Ronin 2013

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8cKdDkkIYY']

Judging from the trailer, this movie could either be pretty awesome, or a cheesy and lame disappointment. Judging from the fact that it has two of my favorite Japanese actors in it (Tadanobu Asano and Hiroyuki Sanada), my hopes are higher than normal for this film. Plus Keanu Reeves ain’t too bad either. He’s just inherently entertaining to me. “Whoa!”

Regardless of whether or not this is your first exposure to the story of the 47 Ronin, you can probably guess that the movie isn’t going to be telling the story exactly as it happened. Historians are pretty sure that demons and beastly creatures were not involved in this 18th century tale.

So what is the true story of the 47 Ronin? Well, thanks to my studying Japanese classics in college (and using the internet to refresh my memory) I am fully capable of guiding you through this classic Japanese tale in the most entertaining of ways. Let’s continue.

Chushingura

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pqNbBsS0lM']

Fictionalized accounts of the 47 Ronin are known as Chushingura. In fact, it’s one of the most well known historical events in Japan. The original tale took place at the start of the 18th century and is considered a famous example of samurai bushido, honor, and revenge.

But the basic story that all Chushingura is based on tells the tale of a group of samurai who were left leaderless (thus becoming ronin, aka samurai without masters) after their lord, Asano Naganori, was ordered to commit suicide. Asano was ordered to do this after assaulting a court official named Kira Yoshinaka.

After waiting and planning for almost two years, the ronin avenged their master’s honor by assassinating Kira. But since the ronin committed the crime of murder by killing Kira, they were also obligated to commit suicide. Since then the story has been told and retold, embodying the Japanese ideals of loyalty, sacrifice, persistence, and honor.

The Chushingura that spawned from this tale took many forms, including kabuki and bunraku. Because of early censorship laws which forbade portrayal of current events, the names of the characters from the tale were changed. Everybody knew who they were talking about though, so this was kind of silly.

The story is still very popular today, and every December 14, Sengakuji Temple holds a festival commemorating the event. All of the stories and plays and movies I’ve seen concerning the story really don’t do it justice in my opinion though. Since the Keanu Reeves movie is going to stray very far from the truth, I know that it won’t really do it true justice either. So below, I’ve laid out the real story as we know it in a concise and easily digestible manner.

Gimme the Deets

Everything up to this now was just the basics. If you only wanted to familiarize yourself with the big picture, the above info will suffice. From this point I’ll be explaining more details as to the happenings of the 47 Ronin. If you don’t care about all the exciting details, feel free to skip right to the end and just leave a comment about the movie. I wouldn’t encourage that though, because this story is actually really cool and totally worth reading.

Okay, so we have two guys – Asano and Kamei. Asano is a daimyo, and Kamei is a lord. They’re hanging out with this Kira guy who is a powerful Edo official, i.e. above both of them. Kira was supposed to teach Asano and Kamei proper court etiquette but was kind of being an asshat about it. He allegedly became upset with them because they did not offer good enough gifts to him / did not bribe him sufficiently.

Others think that Kira treated them poorly, insulted them, or just flat out failed to teach them properly, but the general consensus was that Kira was being super lousy and offended both Asano and Kamei.

Asano was being all level headed and taking this in stride, but Kamei was pretty pissed off up to the point where he was planning to kill Kira. Kamei’s counselors took notice of this and quickly offered Kira a large bribe which then prompted Kira to be much nicer to Kamei, and Kamei changed his mind about wanting to murder Kira to death. Slicing averted. Whew.

Asano on the other hand was still getting pooped on by Kira at every turn, even more so now that Kamei’s camp had offered up a bribe whereas Asano had done no such thing. The last straw was when Kira straight up insulted Asano, calling him a “country boar with no manners.” Asano lost his composure and attacked Kira with a dagger.

In Edo castle, doing so much as just drawing a weapon was strictly forbidden, so actually attacking somebody like this was unheard of. Asano struck out once, causing a small wound to Kira’s face, then struck again, missing and hitting a pillar.

Kira’s wound wasn’t serious at all, but still, he was pretty ticked off. Therefore Asano was ordered to kill himself, his goods and lands were to be confiscated, and his retainers were made to be ronin. Womp wommmp.

The Ronin’s Revenge Plan Forms

Originally Asano had somewhere around 300 some men, but only 47 refused to let this transgression go unpunished. They banded together and vowed to avenge their master’s death, even though revenge was strictly prohibited in a case such as this. They knew they would be punished severely for doing anything to harm Kira, but they had their master’s honor to avenge, so they didn’t care.

The leader of these ronin was known as Oishi. Oishi really thought the whole situation through, and he had a pretty good plan laid out for revenge. Immediately after Asano was forced to commit suicide was when Kira was most afraid of backlash from the now masterless retainers. Knowing this, Oishi just started going to brothels and taverns, getting wasted and acting as though he just didn’t give a crap about anyone or anything.

Oishi knew he was being spied on by Kira’s men, so he even went so far as to divorce his wife of 20 years and send her away with the children. He did this so that no harm would come to them when the ronin finally took their revenge. Kind of sucks for his wife and kids, but at least they were safe.

Oishi started acting even more odd after this, whoring it up, getting trashed, and acting like a fool in public. This was all part of his plan to throw off Kira and his spies.

After about a year and a half of nothing happening, Kira was pretty confident that he was safe. Some of the ronin became workmen and merchants in Edo, gaining access to Kira’s house and getting a good feel for the place. One guy even married the daughter of the builder of the house just to obtain the house’s design plans. Talk about dedication.

The Assassination

The ronin eventually learned of a secret courtyard entrance. They broke into Kira’s house and killed any of his retainers that got in the way. Eventually they found Kira, and offered him a proposal.

Oishi was very calm and composed. He got down on his knees and respectfully addressed Kira. He told Kira who they were and what they had come to do. He said that Kira should die as a true samurai should – by killing himself. Oishi said that he would personally be Kira’s second, and even offered him the same dagger that Asano used to kill himself almost two years prior.

However, Kira was being a total coward. Kira refused to say anything and just crouched there, trembling in fear. Finally, Oishi and company just pinned Kira down and cut off his head with the dagger. The lesson we learned today is that you should always choose door number one.

The ronin then extinguished all the lamps and fires in the house, leaving with Kira’s head.

The Aftermath

The story spread quickly, even as the ronin traveled to their lord’s grave ten kilometers away. Everyone was praising and cheering them on, some even going so far as to offer them refreshments on their way. Sounds like most everyone hated Kira just as much as they did.

At Asano’s grave, they cleaned up Kira’s head and set it down next to the dagger in front of the headstone. After offering prayers and giving the abbot of the temple all their remaining money, they turned themselves in.

The ronin had followed the precepts of bushido by avenging the death of their lord, but they had also defied the Shogunate by exacting a revenge which had been strictly prohibited. Also, an overwhelming amount of the general public was in support of what the ronin had done and even sent in petitions. The government wasn’t quite sure what to do with them.

In the end, the ronin were sentenced to death. They were given the honor of committing ritualistic suicide instead of being executed as criminals. Not exactly a happy compromise, but the ronin were sure they were going to die at the end of this anyway, so it’s about the best they could have hoped for.

Changes Brought About as Result

Not only did this act avenge their master’s death, but it also served to re-establish the Asanos’ lordship. Hundreds of samurai who served under Asano had been left jobless and were unable to find employment having served under a disgraced family. The revenge of the 47 Ronin unsullied the Asano name and many found employment again after the 47 Ronin ended their lives.

There are some critics of the 47 Ronin, though. Some do not believe they did everything the way that they should have. Some call it a good story of revenge, but not the best example of bushido. Regardless, I still think the story is pretty awesome and it’s one of the most entertaining Japanese classics I’ve ever run across, at least.

In the 47 Ronin film coming out this year, Keanu will be playing a made up character who was not present in the original tale. When the main character is made up, it’s a pretty good indicator of how not close to the original the story it will be. Tadanobu Asano is playing Kira, and Hiroyuki Sanada will be playing Oishi. I’m pretty excited for Sanada to be Oishi, but it kind of sucks that Tadanobu Asano got stuck being Kira the pompous ass. Oh well, still cool he’s in the movie.

So after reading the true tale, are you looking forward to Keanu’s version of the 47 Ronin? What about the actions of the 47 Ronin themselves? Justified? I mean, if they didn’t do all this we wouldn’t have so many plays, stories, and blockbuster Hollywood movies based on it!

Think of the sequel opportunities! Who else is thinking of an “Ocean’s 11″ series sort of thing where we go “48 Ronin”, “49 Ronin”, and then the made-for-TV final sequel, the “49 and a Half Ronin” starring Charlie Sheen? Okay, maybe not. The whole cast would have to commit seppuku then, and then who would avenge them??

Japanese samurai films are unquestionably rife with their own brand of clichés; the two samurai dashing at each other, swords drawn, only to have one fall to his death.

No samurai movie would be complete without the heaps and heaps of nameless, dead lesser warriors. In order for the Toshiro Mifune to look good, he has to build his reputation on the corpses of villains who tried and failed to best him.

It’s a role that many actors know, even Tommy Lee Jones:

But one man has stood head and shoulders above the rest as an exemplary fall man. Seizo Fukumoto has been on the business end of a prop sword for over 50 years. You’d think constantly dying to more handsome, charismatic men would take a toll on his ego, but Fukumoto has found a niche where he is comfortable.

His (incomplete) IMDB page speaks for itself, listing over 50 roles. He’s had the privilege of working beside Tom Cruise, fighting Xenu his ex-wives Western forces in The Last Samurai, and appeared in the God-awful Message From Space, the 70s-era Japanese Star Wars rip-off that we’ve written about before. Fukumoto was even presented with a special award from the Japanese Academy Awards for his remarkable career.

Fukumoto in the background, moments before Tom Cruise flew away in his spaceship made of money.

How did he do it all? While other actors aspired to be a leading man or comic relief, Fukumoto just died. Over and over. NPR claims that he has been killed in one form or another over 50,000 times.

(Although, as one commenter on NPR points out, in order for Fukumoto to have died over 50,000 times, he would have had to be killed nonstop every eight hours for at least 50 years. Maybe NPR is a little off.)

The films that Fukumoto appears in are sometimes called chanbara (sword fights) movies. Believe it or not, chanbara exists outside of the world of Japanese samurai movies.

Sword skills obviously aren’t really needed in the real world anymore, but people are still drawn to the beauty of sword combat, so they’ve turned chanbara into a sport of sorts.

Not to be confused with kendo (which has its own set of rules and beliefs), chanbara as a sport isn’t really as established as other sports like it.

Chanbara doesn’t have an international regulatory body like, say, judo does, you won’t ever see it in the Olympics, and it seems that more likely than not, people who teach chanbara outside Japan are Steven Seagal-types. (Oddly enough, chanbara seems mostly popular in France — not quite sure why.)

Maybe I’m being too hard on chanbara. But I know one thing for sure — there are few people out there who can fight and die with the same grace as Fukumoto. To reach that level, you’ll have to keep on dying. And dying. (And dying.)

A Force to be Reckoned With

Ask me to make you a sandwich, go ahead – I dare you.

Onna bugeisha (lit. female master of martial arts) were more or less the female equivalent of samurai and a type of female warrior way back when in the olden times of feudal Japan. They belonged to an upper class of warriors known as bushi and even fought alongside male samurai in righteous battle.

These fierce females played a very important role in the time of feudal Japan but for some reason they don’t seem to get much recognition in the history books. Not once do I recall learning about these girls in school, and one of my majors was Japanese. What gives?

I’m not quite sure as to why they seem to get the short end of the stick here, but perhaps the male writers of the history books didn’t like their manliness being challenged by these femme fatales, or perhaps the answer lies somewhere else, who can say. Either way, I think these female warriors are pretty awesome and definitely worth learning about. Let’s move on, shall we?

Early History of the Onna Bugeisha

Even before the emergence of the legendary samurai and the bushi class, Japanese villages needed to be protected from all sorts of attackers. Since the men of the village weren’t always around (hunting, fishing, travelling to Fuji-Q Highland) the women needed to be able to defend themselves and the village should the need arise.

Even so, women warriors were definitely not a common sight on the battlefield. The Japanese idea of what a female should be like and what role she should fill in society were not much different from many cultures at the time. A woman was expected to be obedient, frail, and powerless when compared to her male counterpart in society. This traditional view of women did not rub well with the idea of a female warrior slaying enemies on the battlefield or wielding a deadly weapon.

In these fierce and bloody conflicts, male warriors most often used swords and spears and were highly trained with them. The women, however, were more likely to be trained in the naginata (pole-arm), kaiken (dagger), and tanto (knife) for use in battle. These weapons were easier to use and conceal in the case of the short blades, and the naginata’s length made up for most any strength the onna bugeisha’s female frame may have been lacking.

Weapons of the Onna Bugeisha

Probably the most popular weapon of choice for onna bugeisha was the naginata, a long rod with a curved blade at one end. Due to its length, it became very popular as it was easy to keep attackers at bay and counter attackers riding on horseback.

Because of this, it was easier for the onna bugeisha to fight male warriors at a bit of a distance which allowed them to make up for any lack of strength. Since the male attacker was unable to get into hand to hand or close quarters combat, they were unable to overpower the well trained naginata wielders and most likely brought much shame upon their families for getting owned so hard.

Even though other weapons were commonly used as well (kaiken, tanto, bow and arrow, etc) the naginata ended up becoming synonymous with the onna bugeisha image. Because of this, many onna bugeisha schools were founded in the beginning of the Edo period and focused mainly on the naginata for their training.

The Edo Period and the Fall of Onna Bugeisha

However, and unfortunately for the onna bugeisha, the Edo period also brought about a lowering to the status of onna bugeisha in society. This was due mostly to the influence of Neo-Confucian thought and the established marriage market of the time. As samurai’s focus changed from war and battle to issues of politics and bureaucracy, the onna bugeisha’s role in society drastically changed.

No longer were they fighting fearlessly in battle, these once mighty women were relegated to housemaids, trophy wives, and bargaining chips in deals of succession. Their once burning spirit was placated and pacified into one of quiet, passive obedience.

With the advent of the 17th century, the woman’s role in society had been cemented as a role of childbearing. With this new mindset the image of a female warrior was even more out of place in society than it might have been before. As such, the idea of females fighting in battle any longer was more or less snuffed out and the traditional onna bugeisha was no longer. Women were now viewed as baby machines and not much else.

But while their progress may have been halted by bureaucracy and the changing role of women in Japan, their legacy lives on in legendary tales of their power and bravery. And one of the most legendary and impressive onna bugeisha was one Empress Jingu.

The Legend of Empress Jingu

Empress Jingu (c. AD 169-269) was consort to Emperor Chuai and served as regent of Japan from 209 when Chuai died until 269 when her son Ojin ascended. There is much mystery and legend surrounding Empress Jingu as a historical figure. As there is insufficient records available concerning her and her reign in Japan, many are unsure as to how much of the legends are true. Regardless, the legends themselves are pretty awesome.

Aided by a pair of divine jewels allowing her to control the tides, legend has it she led a successful invasion of Korea in the year 200 without shedding a single drop of blood. However, the belief that Korea was invaded during this time is widely rejected historically, even in Japan. This is because there is debatable historical evidence of Japanese rule in Korea during this time. However, sources state that Japan had at least developed some control over southern Korea by the 4th century.

Legend also states that her son Ojin was born upon her return to Japan in 203. As he was conceived before she went to battle in Korea and born upon her return, he remained in her womb for three years. The legendary explanation for this is that he son was actually Hachiman, the god of war, and he willfully remained in her womb those three years to give her the time she needed to conquer Korea.

A Lasting Legacy

Doesn’t look very Japanese on the bill, does she?

Empress Jingu has been depicted in many vernacular narratives, paintings, and sculptures. Many regarded her as a living goddess, mother of the martial deity Hachiman, and the mighty conqueror of the Korean kingdoms. These powerful aspects represented all of Japan’s newfound colonial aspirations. It just made sense to choose Empress Jingu as the new face on Japan’s paper money.

In 1881, Empress Jingu became the first woman to be featured on a Japanese banknote. However, since no actual images of her are known to exist (only woodcarvings and the like), the artistic representation of Empress Jingu is entirely conjectural as I’m sure you can tell from the above picture.

Although the final resting place of Empress Jingu remains unknown, her officially designated tomb is located at Misasagi-cho in Nara. This sort of kofun tomb is characterized by a keyhole-shaped island located within a wide, water-filled moat.

But regardless of the validity of the stories surrounding this legendary figure, she no doubt has inspired many generations of Japanese people, both men and women alike. Along with the rest of the onna bugeisha, she fully represents the strength and resolve of Japanese women everywhere.

So tell me, have any of you heard of onna bugeisha before? Am I the only one who’s surprised that they aren’t mentioned more in Japanese history? Let us know in the comments!

[Header Image Source]

Works Consulted:
Jingu Wiki
Onna Bugeisha Wiki
Encyclopædia Britannica

But not every legend was a hack-and-slasher. Turns out one of the most legendary figures in Japanese history wasn’t a samurai, ninja, or emperor – but a judge. Meet Ooka Tadasuke.

Who Was Ooka Tadasuke?

Ooka was a figure during the Edo Period of Japanese history, around the 17th/18th centuries. He was a samurai, but not in the sense that most people think about; the Edo Period was a time when samurai became more like bureaucrats and officials than warriors.

Fortunately, Ooka was more exciting than a low-level, pencil-pushing bureaucrat. He’s most known for being a judge and, even though he started out as a low-level, local judge, he quickly moved up the ranks.

Ooka’s reputation for being fair and incorruptible was so widespread and well-known that even the big man himself, the shogun, knew about Ooka. The shogun appointed Ooka as magistrate of Tokyo, where he dispensed his own special brand of justice.

Famous Cases

During Ooka’s time as a judge he oversaw many cases, a few of which lead to legendary, unusual verdicts. I’m not the first person to draw comparisons between Ooka and King Solomon, the biblical judge who once rendered a verdict cutting a baby in half.

The Case Of The Stolen Smell

Probably Ooka’s most famous case started when an innkeeper accused a student of stealing the smell of his food. Yes, the innkeeper was actually mad that the student was smelling his food and not paying for it.

Thief! Thiiieeef!!!

How do you punish somebody who’s stealing a smell? Ooka decided that the thief should pay for the smell of food with the sound of money. The so-called thief was ordered to move money from one hand to the other, letting the inkeeper listen to it.

Tough, but fair.

Bound Statue

When a kimono maker discovered that some of his cloth was stolen, he came to Ooka. With no real leads to go on, Ooka decided to hold a trial and bring in a surprise witness.

When the witness was brought into court, it turned out to be a statue of Jizo, a Buddhist figure who not only is supposed to save the souls of dead babies (seriously), but is also supposed to look after travelers, like the kimono maker.

People in the court bust out laughing at the absurdity of the statue-turned-witness. Ooka became furious at the audience’s reaction and demanded that they all be punished, telling them to each hand over a piece of cloth (this probably made more sense in the Tokugawa Era).

Everybody forked over some cloth, and the kimono maker was quickly able to recognize some of his stolen cloth and thus, the thief.

These famous cases have largely been passed down in stories, told verbally over hundreds of years. But what about modern day storytelling?

In TV And Books

If there’s one thing for sure I know about Japan, it’s that they love their historical television dramas. The British have Downton Abbey; the Japanese have samurai drama. There’s even a whole genre for this sort of period drama called jidaigeki.

Ooka has been a major player in a couple of jidaigeki over the years, not only playing a big role in the long-running Abarenbo Shogun, but also playing the lead role in the drama Ooka Echizen. In one form or another, Ooka has been on Japanese TV regularly for the last forty years!

So handsome, so judicious.

Ooka’s legend doesn’t stop in Japan, either. Western writers have also been captivated by the legend of Ooka. Dutch writer Bertus Aafjes wrote a series of mystery novels about Ooka and an American named I.G. Edwards wrote a moderately popular children’s book about Ooka in the 50s. The book was republished several times, each time with a different name, going from Solomon In Kimono to Ooka The Wise to The Case of the Marble Monster.

(While researching this post, I realized that I’d read an Edwards’ story, Ooka and the Honest Thief, when I was a kid. Go figure.)

Will The Real Ooka Please Stand Up?

With Ooka’s widespread popularity, there’s been a bit of confusion about what he actually did and didn’t do. When a historical figure like Ooka becomes so celebrated and talked about, sometimes fantastic stories get tangled up with that person’s actual deeds.

No doubt, Japanese folklore has greatly exaggerated Ooka’s life, and magnified even further by Western authors.

But regardless of what stories are true, it’s clear that Ooka was a wise and fair man, whose deeds transcend his era.