Samurai's Influence On Japanese Culture
He was emperor of Japan from 1867 to 1912 and during his reign Japan was transformed to a more westernized culture. This character is accurately depicted. Captain Omura the right hand man of the emperor, is also accurately depicted in helping the emperor make decisions and sometimes even becoming the decision maker.
Harold Bolitho, a professor of Japanese history at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said "It's a country that tries to modernize itself in a hurry," "It wants to get rid of a non-productive class of samurai to replace it with an effective fighting force. It wants to stand up as an independent nation and not be pushed around by Britain or the United States."(3) The movie rebellion is led by a samurai named Katsumoto, who is based on the real-life samurai Saigo Takamuri. Known for his tireless conservatism, Saigo supported the Emperor in the Meiji restoration, but then led an 1877 revolt against the government where his followers were pounded by the western …show more content…
"They were just more privileged. In the end they fight for those privileges, and they are defeated by the new Japan. It's the new Japan overcoming the old Japan."
In essence this is a pure example of why things change over time and even a country that tried so hard not to open its borders up to the world was forced to do so. The Samurai times were an old concept and that’s what they did not like. They worked hard to get where they were and once they saw it tumbling down they reacted.
Yanes 6
Ed Zwick the director and co-writer of the movie The Last Samurai said
"I was as influenced by movie culture as I was by academic history," said Zwick. "When you're 17, you look for inspiration in different places. The idea that had most importance to me was how the samurai embraced the imminence of death and how antithetical that was to the culture in which I was
Harold Bolitho, a professor of Japanese history at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said "It's a country that tries to modernize itself in a hurry," "It wants to get rid of a non-productive class of samurai to replace it with an effective fighting force. It wants to stand up as an independent nation and not be pushed around by Britain or the United States."(3) The movie rebellion is led by a samurai named Katsumoto, who is based on the real-life samurai Saigo Takamuri. Known for his tireless conservatism, Saigo supported the Emperor in the Meiji restoration, but then led an 1877 revolt against the government where his followers were pounded by the western …show more content…
"They were just more privileged. In the end they fight for those privileges, and they are defeated by the new Japan. It's the new Japan overcoming the old Japan."
In essence this is a pure example of why things change over time and even a country that tried so hard not to open its borders up to the world was forced to do so. The Samurai times were an old concept and that’s what they did not like. They worked hard to get where they were and once they saw it tumbling down they reacted.
Yanes 6
Ed Zwick the director and co-writer of the movie The Last Samurai said
"I was as influenced by movie culture as I was by academic history," said Zwick. "When you're 17, you look for inspiration in different places. The idea that had most importance to me was how the samurai embraced the imminence of death and how antithetical that was to the culture in which I was