Re: SEPPUKU: purely "entertainment" or possibl e histor...

In a message dated 10/22/2005 7:12:31 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
ayamechiba@... writes:

[snip very good comments about the film SEPPUKU as "entertainment". Though I
personally don't see it as "entertainment" but we're probably just talking
semantics here.]

> I agree with one of the other posters that in this regard, films are best
> used as 'jumping off points' to inspire someone to conduct further research.

That's exactly the point I was trying to make. And probably was not very
clear about it. Which actually is the reason why I see SEPPUKU as more than just
"entertainment." It certainly isn't claiming to be a depiction of exact
history. It's not saying that, in real life, there truly existed a ronin named
Tsugumo Hanshiro who avenged the death of his son-in-law Chijiiwa Motome by taking
several top-knots and slaying several other members of the Ii clan.

There are some points of entertainment. I also loved the part where Tsugumo
tosses the topknots at the Ii clan, and loved their shocked reaction. But
unlike most "noble ronin" chambara films (which I LOVE, by the way), SEPPUKU goes a
lot further. I don't get that "jumping off" inspiration to study real history
when watching most of the chambara/jidai-geki films that I watch.

SEPPUKU goes way beyond just "noble ronin" entertainment. It has raised
issues. It has made me want to do actual historical research. It was a "jumping
off" point. And in that way, it has value to me as a tool for studying history.

I hope I'm making myself a bit more clearer than mud. :)

Nina

In a message dated 10/30/2005 7:38:36 PM Eastern Standard Time,
nostrand@... writes:

> Hi.
>
> Seppuku is probably most appropriately classified as a jidaigeki of the
> fictional sort. It is not a documentary and does not pretend to be one. It

does not

>even pretend to be a fictionalization of a historical event such as Samurai

Banners

>and Kagemusha are. That said, they serve the same sort of function as say The
>Patriot does for understanding the U.S. Revolutionary War.
>

You have a great point here. I also saw (and really enjoyed) THE PATRIOT. On
one hand, it used a historical background. But it was a fictional account set
against this historical background. I think that SEPPUKU had a similar format
and intent.

> Is it a historical source? By in large, no. Is it purely "entertainment",

I think that

>this is too harsh. Chanbara films are much more of the entertainment

variety, but

>even here the well made chanbara film, such as Yojimbo, can expose the

novice to

>the atmosphere of the periond in which it is set.
>

I think that films like SEPPUKU, SEVEN SAMURAI, and YOJIMBO raise issues
rather than intending to be depictions of actual history. SEVEN SAMURAI raises the
issue of class differences and YOJIMBO raises the issue of the ending of an
era.

In my opinion, SEPPUKU raises more issues than the other two do. It's such a
multi-level film, which is why it is a masterpiece. Just in my opinion, and
I'm neither a crendentialed historian nor a film expert, but I believe that
SEPPUKU outdoes either YOJIMBO and SEVEN SAMURAI. But all these films are
masterpieces.

Films like these were not intended to be accounts of actual history. Instead,
they pose a "jumping-off" point for researching actual history.

Nina