go to
http://www.streamload.com/secretarytocapt3
[folder] Shinsengumi, Articles, Screencaps, TMPD, Seinan/Satsuma,
Music Vids, Scanlations
[password] makoto
[sub-folder] Seinan+TMPD+FrenchPolice
[file name] Meiji Police in Film
[file size] 9 mb
Screencaps of
Lady Snowblood...in which the secret police monitor anti-government
elements. What is important about these caps is it shows a feature of
the French Police system and that is the higher your rank the less
likely you had to wear the uniform...but you had to wear western
clothing. The general rule in the Meiji Era police system is that you
had to wear western clothing even when you are NOT on duty (0_0) keep
in mind that the Meiji government was engaged in rapid nation/state
building and the "new" face of the modern government WAS the police
system...the image of professionalism was not merely encouraged, it
was MANDATORY. The last installment of Lady Snowblood also shows the
influence of Russian political theory behind the anti-government
movement. Most police shown use sabres
Sanshiro Sugata...the film will show a police sponsored tournament
between practitioners of judo (the winner will become an instructor in
the force). Notice the police band (they are in the background),
rickshaws, and how the typical Meiji era gentlemen wore western hats
and kimonos (basically mixed attire from both cultures). If I
remember correctly, the police force in Sanshiro Sugata was the
Yokohama police, but keep in mind that the Meiji Era police system was
HIGHLY centralized so the uniforms etc would be basically the same
throughout the country. I specifically chose these screencaps to give
us an idea of the atmosphere of the kenjutsu tournaments sponsored by
the TMPD.
Last Samurai...the Tom Cruise movie will not mention the participation
of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department at all, even though the
use of the police was essentially a critical factor in the
government's victory (according to western writers). The costuming
and uniform shown in this movie does not look 100% like what is
depicted in the traditional paintings of the Seinan War. However,
some of the traditional paintings show slightly different uniforms as
well...[shrugs] just rely on the group pic of Fujita Goro (^_^).