Samurai: Their Weapons Invaded Pop Culture

Samurai: Their Weapons Invaded Pop Culture

Precursor, writer Eiji Yoshikawa published in Japan in 1935 Stone and saber. It romanticizes the life of the glorious fighter Miyamoto Musashi (1594-1645) who then became the popular archetype of the samurai, at a time when Hirohito’s regime wanted him to be militaristic and combative. Then the samurai is more of a propaganda tool than a proud romantic hero. Since the 1970s, and especially the 1980s, the Japanese warrior has become a pop culture star. A fictional fighter character, sort of Cowboys In a version of the Far East that artists draw inspiration from to modernize, or sometimes explicitly copy. Samurai with all sauces.

Go robot!

In this Animation Created in 1972 by the Japanese studio Toei Animation, Grendizer is a robot guard in a warring alien empire. In particular, he sends his enemies “planitrons,” a futuristic version of the shuriken, these slashing projectiles adopted by Japanese warriors in the eleventh century. His helmet horns are reminiscent of the flippers of a samurai.

Military fantasy

At the end of the 16th century, samurai carried a pair of swords, the Daisho. In the Mango PlotRoronoa Zoro figure wears three on his belt! triple model of katana, traditional Japanese sword. Created by Eiichiro Oda in 1997, this adventure series is a hit with teens. In the program: battles, adventures, fantastic monsters, pirates, Ninja And of course the samurai.

The elders are at the helm

In the video game “Samurai Warriors”, the player embodies one of the historical figures of the Sengoku period. Oda Nobunaga (late 16th century), a warlord, led his clan to power and unified Japan before it fell to the onslaught of opposing clans in 1582.

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Bushido is made in the USA

the movie ghost dog by Jim Jarmusch, released in 1999 titled “The Way of the Samurai”. This “way” is Bushido, a set of principles of honor that governed the life of a Japanese warrior. Except that the story here takes place in modern times, in New Jersey. And she is a professional killer Fighting Mafia Who wears samurai clothes.

The dark side of the katana

to create his villain Dark FadorGeorge Lucas based on the historical samurai: Date Masamune (1567-1636). Manager star Wars He also borrowed his helmet, his black suit, and also his personality: Masamune was a warlord known for his ferocity. and the Laser sword to the Jedi what the katana meant to the samurai.

For more

> Show up and pretend. Why and how the samurai’s life was made up of lies, betrayals, and deceit. The Bushido trick in pre-modern Japan by Olivier Ansart (ed. Les Belles Lettres).

> Warriors in the rice field. How some did not want to be cut off from the past while others managed to adapt to the realities of their time. The long history of the samurai By Pierre-François Sorey (Flammarion Editor).

> Europeans and Japanese. In 1585, Portuguese Jesuit descriptions abstain from judgment. A message in contradictions and differences in norms By Louis Frois, Foreword by Claude Levi-Strauss (Chandini Editor).

> Humor and poetry. Love between men or women is written by an eighteenth century writer. The great mirror of male love By Uehara Saikaku (Editor: Philippe Becquier).

> A history of sexual activity and sexual arousal In Japan in the XVII-XX centuries. The spirit of pleasure Written by Philippe Pons and Pierre-François Surrey (Payot Histoire Editor).

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> The true story of the dark samurai With a good dose of imagination. Yasuke By Serge Pellet (Owen Publishing).

> Samurai women their weapons and beliefs. Samurai Women 1184-1877 By Stephen Turnbull (Osprey Publishing).

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About the Author: Aldina Antunes

"Praticante de tv incurável. Estudioso da cultura pop. Pioneiro de viagens dedicado. Viciado em álcool. Jogador."

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