Free Sunday Matinee! Samurai Film: Zatoichi - the Blind Swordsman

Recently, due to the earthquake, tsunami and the subsequent nuclear accident at Fukushima, this blog (and everyone else) has been completely preoccupied with those events. Several regular readers have asked that I start the free Sunday Japanese cinema again.

You asked for it, you got it. Here is a well known story in Japan. It is called Satoichi - the Blind Swordsman. Wikipedia says:

Zatoichi (座頭市 Zatōichi) is a fictional character featured in one of Japan's longest running series of films and a television series set in the Edo period. The character, a blind masseur and swordmaster, was created by novelist Kan Shimozawa (子母澤 寛 Shimozawa Kan). This originally minor character was developed for the screen by Daiei Studios (now Kadokawa Pictures) and actor Shintaro Katsu, who created the screen version. A total of 26 films were made from 1962 to 1989. From 1972 to 1974, a television series of the same name was made. One hundred and twelve episodes were aired before the "Zatoichi" television series was cancelled.

Film number 17 of the original series was remade in America in 1990 (by TriStar Pictures) as Blind Fury, an action movie starring Rutger Hauer.

Today, we will watch, in full the 2003 remake starring Takeshi Kitano directed by Takashi Miike. Satoichi is a much loved character in Japanese modern day folklore and this samurai film is quite possibly one of the best of the modern samurai movies. It has a quite bizarre ending too! Enjoy!

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The Value of Silence at Business Meetings - the Samurai Way

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open ones mouth and remove all doubt." - Unknown.


"Those who don't know say that they do. Those who do know say they don't." - Za Zen Buddhist saying




I often am reminded of how much some people like to hear their own voices at meetings. Not me. If I can, I want to go through meetings and be completely silent unless I am absolutely sure that I understand all facets of the problem(s) being discussed and there is something that is urgently pressing that I feel that I must say....


To be quite dramatic... It is like the way a samurai would do things... They'd shut up unless they have something important to say. In my case, I shut up because I don't want to sound stupid.


In Japan, even from long ago, it is said that the most intelligent people say little. A zen quote goes like this: "Those who say they know, don't. Those who do know, don't say."

Hopefully, against all odds, and in spite of myself, what I did have to say at a meeting, when I finally said it, would be relevant.

Otherwise, I want to be like samurai. 


According to ancient folklore, the samurai weren't big talkers. They didn't say too much.


Perhaps they kept their mouths shut because they already knew the score or perhaps they kept silent because they didn't fully comprehend the subject at hand. Or, perhaps they kept quiet because they knew that f they talked, they'd say something dumb. No matter what, it's always a good idea not to "show your hand."


Keeping your mouth shut and only speaking when absolutely necessary seems to me a good way to be.


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NOTE: Many regular readers have been asking for more great Japanese cinema. We haven't had any since the earthquake and tsunami, but here's some of the best scenes from Zatoichi a 1989 samurai film about a samurai who is blind. This is an awesome film. I will search for an English subtitled version and place it online if I can. Until then, enjoy!

SATOICHI

Samurai Assassination Movie

There's a movie coming out in Japan that really looks good. It's a movie about an assassination of the chief minister of the Edo shogunate government in 1860. Student's of Japanese history will know this as the "Sakuradamon incident." It was also the last hurrah for the samurai.

Authentic photo from 1860 of the Sakuradamon incident

The Sakuradamon incident occurred when Japan's pro-foreign Chief Minister Ii Naosuke was assassinated by xenophobic samurai who wanted foreigners kept out of Japan (an understandable concern!)


Now, there's a lot of bad movies coming out of Japan, but when it comes to samurai films, Japan still does a pretty good job (well, duh!) 


The Mainichi Newspaper reports: 

A famous ambush assassination of a high-ranking government official in Japan's late samurai period has been adapted into Junya Sato's new movie "Sakuradamongai no Hen" (The Sakuradamon Incident). The film carefully depicts the country's upheaval at the end of the samurai era from the view point of the assassins, making it easier for everyone to understand the historic background of the incident. The climax of the movie is the assassination of Naosuke Ii (starring Masato Ibu), the chief minister of the Edo shogunate government, by a group of 18 samurais on a snowy day 150 years ago.


Here's the trailer for the movie. It's in Japanese but you don't need to speak the language to see how good this movie is going to be!





Link: http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20101023p2a00m0na021000c.html


Thanks to News on Japan