Shogun-ki

Unasaka, Domain Of Chaos: Animeigo’s “Sword of Desperation”

2012-02-25T09:11:00.020-10:00

You won’t find Unasaka Han on any map of Edo Period Japan, but it seems like it was an extremely eventful place. Loyal retainers routinely fell afoul of Ukyou clan leadership and had to be exterminated ('Twilight Samurai' and ‘The Hidden Blade’), children were used as chess pieces in succession struggles ('The Samurai I Loved'), and there was even a case of a blind man dueling an official that had sexually violated his wife (‘Love and Honor’). The latest from Unasaka involves what looks to be an unprovoked assault on the Lord’s favorite consort by one of the clan’s most stalwart samurai, resulting in her death. It's all chronicled in Animeigo's new DVD release of 2010's "Sword of Desperation".

Unasaka Han was a fictitious creation of writer Fujisawa Shuhei. According to Animeigo’s program notes, he based it on the historical Shonai Han (officially Tsuruoka Han) which was located in modern day Yamagata Prefecture. Many of his popular historical novels were set here, including the ones mentioned above that were adapted into movies. The English title makes it sound much like a Nemuri Kyoshiro film from the 1960’s, a series starring Japanese film legend Ichikawa Raizo that often used ‘Sword of…’ to tag its entries. “Sword of Desperation” also shares with it two other things the Kyoshiro series was known for-a healthy distrust of corrupt authority and a climatic final swordfight featuring an exotic, secret sword technique. While you won’t see Kyoshiro’s ‘Full Moon Cut’ (Animeigo will have that covered later in the year with ‘Sleepy Eyes Of Death Box set 3’), the Japanese title for the film will give a hint of what’s to come-“Hisshiken Torisashi”, or the “Bird-Catching Desperate Sword”. And when this technique is revealed, it’s DEFINITELY worth the wait…

The film opens with a Noh play being performed for the benefit of the daimyo of Unasaka fief, Ukyou Tayuu (Murakami Jun). When the performance ends, it’s not the daimyo who starts the applause-rather, it’s his consort Renko (Seki Megumi). Ukyou follows suit along with the rest of the crowd. The daimyo’s party begins to file out when suddenly one of his retainers, Kanemi Sanzaemon (Toyokawa Etsushi), abruptly pulls Renko out of the procession, pins her against a veranda beam, and runs her through with his sword. Either he REALLY disagrees with her opinion of the play, or there’s more here than meets the eye…

…and this becomes even more apparent when Sanzaemon isn’t executed or sentenced to commit seppuku-instead, his stipend is reduced from 280 koku to 130 and he’s placed under a year of house arrest. The reduction in his stipend reduces his household staff to an elderly maid and his niece Rio (Ikewaki Chizuru). While most samurai would surround themselves with as much luxury as possible during their year at home, Sanzaemon takes his punishment seriously-he has his servants board him up inside a small, rough storehouse. During the next year he forgoes bathing, shaving, and occupies himself by wood carving and mulling over the past. During the next year we gradually discover the chain of events that led to Sanzaemon’s murder of Renko.

Sanzaemon is shown in happier days having a picnic with his wife Mutsue (Toda Naho) and Rio. A foreshadowing of his special sword technique is shown when he helps two boys capture a small bird with a stick. While Sanzaemon seems content, conversations with his fellow infantry captain Hoshina Junai (Kohinata Fumiyo) reveal that the clan is experiencing rough times. The weak-willed daimyo Ukyou is dominated by his greedy and haughty consort Renko-she’s the stereotypical ‘evil woman’ of samurai movies (think of Kurosawa Akira’s films ‘Ran’ and ‘Castle Of The Spider’s Web/Throne of Blood’). She thinks nothing of suggesting to Ukyou that the castle’s accountant Anzai be ordered to commit seppuku when he suggests slashing castle luxuries in order to help out local farmers. Instead, the only slashing he’s doing involves his stomach. Renko also wants an expensive restoration done to Koboku Temple (as the temple has agreed to make her father abbot). Crushing taxes push the farmers into a rebellion that is only headed off when the daimyo’s kinsman, Obiya Hayatonosho (Kikkawa Koji), promises to intercede on the farmer’s behalf. Even so, Renko offhandedly remarks that the leaders of the farmers should be killed-and Ukyou has it done.

By now, Mutsue has passed away from a ‘wasting sickness’ and Sanzaemon, seemingly wishing to join her in death, decides to kill Renko for the good of the clan-bringing us full circle and back to the present. Sanzaemon is released from house arrest but still seems disinterested in life, seeing only his niece Rio (who develops an unhealthy fascination with washing his back) and refusing all visitors. He leaves home for a time, embarking on a journey where he visits Renko’s grave (at the refurbished Koboku Temple, naturally) and later runs across Obiya Hayatonosho. Finally, three years after his assault on Renko, Sanzaemon is called to the castle by Deputy Chief Retainer Tsuda Minbu. He’s mysteriously given his full stipend back and made Chief Bodyguard to Ukyou, even though the daimyo obviously despises him. Sanzaemon is told “not to show your face to me all the time” and to take his position outside the room rather than inside. The puzzled Chief Bodyguard offers his resignation to Tsuda but it’s refused. It seems that Sanzaemon and his ‘bird-catching’ sword technique will be needed to deal with the threat of Obiya Hayatonosho, who has had enough of the Lord’s high-handed ways and lack of compassion. Everyone expects Obiya to attack Ukyou at some point, very soon…but is he the real enemy? In Unasaka, one can never be sure where the next treacherous bastard might come from.

Much like ‘Twilight Samurai’, ‘Hidden Blade’, ‘Love and Honor’, and ‘The Samurai I Loved’, “Sword of Desperation” is a quiet, slow paced, introspective film grounded in the real world of Edo Period Japan-at least until the final reel, where all the stops are pulled out and a bloodbath of massive proportions takes place. While this might seem to be jarring and potentially hurt the film, director Hirayama Hideyuki manages to make the transition seamless and a natural outgrowth of the plot. Subtle touches abound in the film-the Noh play in the beginning describes the treachery of a shape shifting fox and its death at the hands of heroic retainers, clearly shadowing Sanzaemon’s upcoming assault on Renko. Daimyo Ukyou’s given name ‘Tayuu’ can be read as “high ranking Noh actor”, also linking the incident to the Noh play. The carving we see Sanzaemon working on during his imprisonment is of a bird-a bird that brings to mind his sword technique. The same carving is later shown to be a treasured possession of Rio. Also during Sanzaemon’s year of imprisonment, the change of seasons is used to both highlight and accentuate the different flashbacks as well as reflecting Sanzaemon’s moods. Even obvious techniques (like detailing each character’s name and position in the clan as they appear during the opening scene) make the film easier to follow and establish the different characters.

“Sword of Desperation” was nominated for six Japanese Academy Prizes, including Best Actor (Toyokawa), Best Supporting Actor (Kikkawa Koji as Obiya), Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Lighting, and Best Cinematography. The lighting and cinematography are indeed outstanding, with crisp, bright colors and vistas that highlight the change of seasons that Japanese filmmakers are so fond of. The editing is also excellent, with a story that uses multiple levels of flashbacks communicating itself effortlessly and gracefully. It’s done largely by ‘fading in’ to flashback sequences in black and white with voice overs from the previous scene still being played out, the film changing back to color and then later switching to black and white again as the flashback wraps up (and voiceovers from the next scene being laid upon it). It sounds a bit confusing but works great.

The best actor nomination for star Toyokawa Etsushi seems to have been given largely due to his popularity and what is for him an unusual role. As Kanemi, he’s largely unemotional and detached, rarely speaking and usually seen in a glum state. This is in contrast to other roles he’s played (such as the title character in 2004’s “Tange Sazen”, or acting alongside mythological creatures in 2005’s “The Great Yokai War”). In one way, it is an excellent performance as he has nailed the essence of the character-but the character, while a model of Bushido, is rather uninteresting. While there is no question Kanemi is at heart a compassionate and thoughtful man, the character has little charisma. Thankfully the situation centering on him provides all the drama needed.

Animeigo again excels in providing a clear translation with easy to read subtitles. The transfer is colorful and well done. Extras include an extensive gallery of stills along with trailers for “Sword of Desperation”, ‘The Samurai I Loved’ (a film we enjoyed even more than “Sword”), and ‘Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai’ (our favorite Animeigo release). Since the film is not an historical epic, program notes are slim and largely give a general history of the Edo Period. There are also short biographies for star Toyokawa, director Hirayama, and source writer Fujisawa. Curiously, there’s no title given on the title screen-we don’t recall seeing this happen on too many DVD titles.

Sword of Desperation provides jidaigeki fans with the heart and humanity of Yamada Yoji’s “Samurai Trilogy” while also gifting chanbara hounds with an exciting climatic swordfight that echoes the Ichikawa Raizo films its title seems to be an homage to. It’s another chapter in the story of Unasaka Han-a record that continues to write itself in the blood splattered across the tatami mats in the halls of power. Watch it before the Shogun gets wind of things and confiscates the Han. You can order “Sword of Desperation” directly from Animeigo at a discount HERE or from Amazon.

All images copyright & courtesy of 2010 Sword Of Desperation Production Committee

Evil Spirits, Smelly Swordsmen, and Drunks: Albe Pavo's "Sake & Samurai"

2011-12-19T07:26:00.016-10:00

Hiya, kids! It’s yer old pal, the Brickster, settin’ pen ta paper in his inaugural offerin’ on the SA’s Shogun-ki. Now, while some may take this as a sign of the Age of Mappo’s advent, the rest’a you can enjoy my hard-hittin’ commentary on the important issues of the day-as long as the day in question happened in pre-modern Japan. While we were gonna do a review of some sweater vest-wearin’ college egghead’s thesis on why everyone that likes “Kill Bill” and “The Last Samurai” is a die-hard racist, instead, we’re gonna take a look at the excellent new card/board game “Sake & Samurai” from Albe Pavo. I mean, who’s more familiar with either sake or samurai than the Brickster? And as a special bonus, we’re not only doin’ a review of this kewl game but includin’ an interview with the game’s designer, Matteo Santus! Before we commence to reviewin’, here’s the backstory to the game from its official press release:

“A few samurai warriors are sitting at a table in a small inn, talking and bragging about swords, women and honour. Sake flows freely, but not even the cellars of Bishamon, the God of War, could quench the thirst of Japan’s greatest swordsmen. Servants run for cover, knowing full well where all this is going. Suddenly an eerie silence fills the common room. On the table, only one full cup remains. Who will get the last drink? Will it be the elder of the group, or shall the greatest warrior have it? Time seems to stretch to infinity, until one hand makes a move towards the cup. Such insolence! This insult shall not be tolerated! The elder goes for his sword... We shall never know whether the bold samurai was taking the cup for himself or only to hand it over to his venerable companion. It does not matter: all warriors take offense and draw their katana, joining the fight at the call of SAAKEEE!”

YEEESSSSSSS!!!!! Admit it-you’ve seen this scenario in one form or another in practically every chanbara or jidaigeki film ever made, especially those starrin’ Mifune Toshiro. Most samurai had more arrogance and shorter fuses than your average gang-banger. And now you can bring the action of those thrillin’ films of yesteryear home in the ultimate party game for samurai otaku-“Sake & Samurai”. When I first heard about this game from Tatsu over at the SA, I KNEW I had to have it, and he was able to set me up with one. Even better, I was able to get a copy of the special ‘Superalcoholic Edition’ that was released for the Lucca Comics & Games convention in Italy-after all, the Brickster deserves nothin’ less! The game is good for three-eight players (nine for the special edition), although you can make do with two (each playin’ two samurai). It takes about 35 minutes to finish with four players. The first thing we noticed is that the game components are extremely well done-they’re sturdy and will hold up to repeated play. The artwork is exemplary (yeah, I used a thesaurus)-very detailed, attractive, and each of the nine characters has a completely unique look. The sake drink markers are cool little pieces of clear glass.

The object of the game is to be the drunkest samurai still standin’ at the end of the Sudden Death round. In game terms, drunkenness is judged by the amount of sake drinks taken from the masu by each player. This isn’t as easy as it sounds-each drink taken impairs the abilities of the swordsmen, and grabbin’ too many too early will make players a hooched up stumblebum unable to defend themselves. Sake can be burned up in an emergency to play an extra card or draw a card at an opportune moment, but then you’ve lost it for good. Players who ignore drinkin’ in order to concentrate on swordplay and killin’ their opponents run the risk of lettin’ a low lyin’ lush squeak by with the win-not to mention givin’ the dead players a good shot at ultimate victory. Ya see, when you’re killed in the game, you don’t drop out-you become an onryo (a spirit with a GRUDGE) and a minion of the jealous and thirsty God of Death, Enma. Enma makes the dead players his slaves, havin’ them work as a team (and usin’ the front of the cards rather than the backs) to steal sake from the masu, torment the livin’, or use their awesome magikal powerz to move around sake, cards, and player positions. Yes, you can die and STILL win the game! How cool is that? Only in Japan. As you can see, it’s a delicate balancin’ act each player has to perform-when to drink, when to fight, and even when to die.

Players can choose from such famous swordsmen and warriors as Ito Ittosai, (Yagyu) Jubei Mitsuyoshi, Musashi Miyamoto, Yagyu Munenori, and (in the special edition) Yamanaka Shikanosuke. There are also several characters that weren’t noted as swordsmen-Date Masamune, Hojo Masako, Takezaki Suenaga, and Tomoe Gozen. Sengoku Basara to the contrary, Date wasn’t known as bein’ a particularly good swordsman. Masako was a big time mover and shaker in the late Heian/Kamakura eras, but likely couldn’t tell her tsuka from her kissaki. Takezaki was the bumblin’ samurai whose goofy antics were immortalized in the Mongol Invasion Scrolls. And Tomoe-well, fictional character. But so what? The game designers knew all this, but figured they’d be just as much fun to play as the other guys. Each character has their own special ability and toughness (the amount of wounds they can sustain before dyin’). Players make their own gameboard by placin’ their samurai cards with blocks between each-each block represents one step between opponents, and affects what weapons can be used against a foe. Distances can be closed (which opens up the distance to the opponent on your other side), and you can never pass by a foe, since a’course samurai never give way. At game’s start (before the free-for-all breaks out), each player is sittin’-this allows a one-time Iaido strike while yer still sittin’, but once you stand, you’ll never sit down again-at least while yer livin’.

One of the cooler card mechanics is that you can use the text on the card or one of the four values it gives for movement, attack, defense, or (best of all) drinkin’. This means that there’s really no such thing as a bad hand of cards-every card has somethin’ useful on it. In an emergency, you can also burn up your soul to access the cards that comprise your life force-this costs you wounds and brings you closer to death, but might provide you with the boost you need to avoid a fatal strike or come out on top. For all the options the game gives you, it’s actually pretty easy to learn. It’s a great party game as well since everyone tends to survive one way or the other until endgame.

While goin’ through the rules, we were also amused as hell by the sense of humor the game showed. Whimsical rules abound, like requirin’ the other players to refer to the senior combatant with an honorific added. Since the Brickster was the honored elder, I made ‘em call me “El Conquistador”. Some of the deadliest attacks in the game come from throwin’ riceballs or ramen at your foes, or usin’ some rude bodily function to keep them at bay (like “Strategic Stench”, a technique the historical Musashi was noted for). You can even make your dastardly foes spew up their sake, causin’ em to lose a turn. Minions are provided, and they prove to be perfect cannon fodder for their ‘sensei’, absorbin’ killin’ blows and sacrificin’ themselves on hopeless, idiotic attacks. Albe Pavo has even included an origami masu to place the ‘sake drinks’ in, and they challenge the players to ‘prove themselves’ by foldin’ it up correctly. The game really draws you into the settin’-you’ll have the feel of bein’ in a chanbara film and bustin’ up the local tavern, as well as those other sword-carryin’ clowns who stand between you and the last drink.

While all that technical stuff is great, it remained to be seen just how much fun the game was. So the Brickster put together an all-star team of drinkers from the Studio-me, my wife and co-star Koyori, and two extras that happened to walk by (Mushi Takezo and Chiba Kaede). While you can set the game in several locations (each with its own special benefits and drawbacks), this bein’ our first try we stuck with the sake den. We did amend the rules a bit-samurai boards are supposed to be random but we all picked our own. Takezo took the character he played on season one of “Abarenbo Gaijin”, Miyamoto Musashi. Kaede (who plays one of Ko’s shrine maidens on the show) took Tomoe Gozen. Ko took Hojo Masako, a perfect choice since they’re both gorgeous, intimidatin’, and fearsome women. The Brickster took Date Masamune, since we’re both notorious fer bein’ one-eyed, although in vastly diff’rent ways. We also used our “Ayame, Princess Of The Iris Blossom” plate to hold the sake drinks instead of the origami masu, which the Brickster had ruined earlier by tryin’ it out fer real. And just to add a tad more realism to the proceedin’s, we decided to down a real cup of sake every time we gulped a ‘virtual one’ in the game. There were also penalty cups to be quaffed, just like in every Japanese drinkin’ game, with circumstances to be determined by the Brickster’s infinite wisdom. The gals decided they wanted shochu while the Brickster and Takezo stuck to sake blessed by the deities of Fushimi Inari Taisha. Here’s the initial board setup:

As you can see, the Brickster used “Nomihoudai”, his special sake set crafted by Sen No pRikyu in the 16^th century, as a psychological ploy against the other players. Hey, Japanese women can drink most adults under the table, so I needed all the help I could get. Kaede, havin’ the toughest character (Tomoe), was set upon by Takezo and Ko in the early rounds while the Brickster amused hisself by drinkin’ and chuckin’ the occasional riceball at their noggins. Things turned ugly when it dawned on the others that I was bogartin’ the masu, and the Brickster found hisself on the receivin’ end of some deadly thrown chopsticks, a monstrous belch, and brought to his knees by a card that gave him blurred vision. As sloshed as my character was in game terms (not to mention real life), he had nothin’ to play to keep it from happenin’. However, Ko took pity at my plight and knocked Kaede out of the game on the next turn with a three point naginata strike that made her character an instant spirit. This distracted Takezo who turned his attention to Ko, allowin’ the Brickster to take him down for good with a ranged shot of Burning Ramen. Takezo joined Kaede in the spirit world and Koyori drew the final sake drink from the masu-plungin’ us into the Sudden Death round. After the first Sudden Death round, the Brickster and Koyori were tied at three drinks each and the dumbass spirits of Enma had none. Hah! I ain’t fraid’ of no ghost. As per the rules, they had ta commit seppuku because “Pride does not vanish after death”. So that left me and Ko to fight it out for final supremacy.

You’ll notice that the Brickster’s ‘sittin’ counter is still there at endgame. Yeah, that’s right-I got through the entire rumble without havin’ my samurai get outta his chair! This has as much to do with my brilliant strategy as it does Date Masamune (or me) bein’ a lazy bastard. The other players got caught up in swordplay and fightin’ each other, losin’ sight of the final goal-bein’ the drunkest samurai still alive. If I learned anythin’ from Lex Luthor in “Justice League Unlimited” it was to never lose sight of the final goal, and get everyone else to do your dirty work for you. Me, I sat back, knocked down sake every round, instigated the others into attackin’ each other (like “Hey, Kaede, I don’t care what Koyori says-I don’t think yer ass is fat”), and defendin’ myself on the rare occasions I got assaulted. In other words, it was a lot like real life.

Things began to get interestin’ when Kaede, no longer in the struggle but still gamely sluggin’ back shochu, began to perform the traditional Shinto dance “Ama no Uzume”, which looked even better when performed topless. However, a smack to the back of my head by Ko brought me back to the unfoldin’ struggle. Since I was still sittin’, I still had the option of usin’ my deadly Iaido attack and also had a hand fulla kickass cards. I chuckled as I began to slap down the card that would spell Ko’s doom, but she gave that petulant, drunken glare that said “Don’t even THINK about playing that card unless you want the rest of your life to be a barren, living hell”. Rememberin’ that the wise general knows when to lose the battle to win the war, I burned up one of my sake drinks and then played a card that I knew would net me nothin’, makin’ Ko the happy winner and relegatin’ the Brickster to the loser’s circle. But remember what I said about never losin’ sight of the final goal? Ko, bein’ flushed with victory and large amounts of alcohol, unceremoniously booted out our guests and proceeded to take the Brickster as her prize, makin’ me the big winner of the evenin’.

So as you can tell, we had a great time playin’ the game-lotsa laughs and some good competition that went down to the wire. This got the Brickster thinkin’ that it might be fun to see just what the hell was goin’ through the minds of the designers when they put this game together-they’re definitely my kind of people. So we contacted the game’s designer Matteo Santus to find out the story behind this little gem.

BRICK: Tell us a little bit about Albe Pavo-how the company got started, its projects to date, and some projects we can look forward to in the future.

MATTEO: We’re three friends who love boardgames and did game designing for fun for many years...one day I thought: why not publish our projects? They are good! And so here we are, the white peacock was born! We love history, love games and love to fight each other over a board! And also we love to design and to bring new ideas to life!

We have many projects in the works: we are working on a game completely different from our previous ones-its name is WINTER TALES and it's about fables. And we also have other games under development...what do you think of "BEER AND VIKINGS"? It will be stand-alone and compatible with "SAKE & SAMURAI"!

BRICK: Most samurai games revolve around bushido, loyalty, bravery, and all sorts’a BS centerin’ on the myth of the 'noble samurai'. "Sake & Samurai", however, revolves around drunken, violent, and petty ronin swordsmen with attacks like Musashi's "Strategic Stench", vomitin’, and food fights-showin’ the warriors of old Japan as they really were. Why’d you forego the traditional approach and stick to reality?

MATTEO: History is never polished and clean. Bravery, loyalty, bushido, nobility: all so great as to reach the heavens! But Samurai lived on earth and on earth there is mud and dirt and blood and.. Sakeeee!!! Have you ever seen the film "7 Samurai" (Shichinin no Samurai) by Kurosawa? There you can find our kind of Samurais! :D We wanted to portray the code of bushido in the gloom of a tavern, all around the same table with the precious Sake running down! But we did not want to be too serious, so we imagined these dirty versions of the noble samurai! "Take this! Chopsticks in your eyes!!! "

BRICK: Lettin’ defeated players return as spirits to bedevil their former foes (and also gettin’ a shot at a piece of the win) is a brilliant game mechanic. How’d this end up in the game?

MATTEO: If you eliminate from the game one of your friends this could be sad! And in party games this can be a big mistake! Here, if you die, you became a spirit: everybody knows that! And what is worse than an angry spirit with thirst and lust for Sake? But Spirits are dead, so don't do the same things as living people! So we designed their gameplay completely different and we really like the way they play! We've been inspired both in mechanics and graphic design by Japanese histories of ghosts.

BRICK: Was includin’ cards for Hojo Masako and Tomoe Gozen done to get the ladies to try their hands at the game? I’m all fer that!

MATTEO: Surely it is good, but many times ladies want to play as a man: the bigger-dirtier-uglier, the better! And ladies can be really cruel with a sword in their hands…like in Kill Bill!

BRICK: Well, if there was a card for Hagfat in the game, you could be both female and the biggest-dirtiest-ugliest. Speakin’ of which, the artwork for the game looks great and goes well with the theme. Can you tell us a bit more about the artist, Jocularis?

MATTEO: Jocularis is an extremely versatile painter! We plan the game together so he is not only the "visual designer" for Albe Pavo, but has participated in every step of the game design development too. In “Munera” we chose to have a design connected to the "old school" masterpieces of Pompei, for example. Here in Sake, you can see a humorous point of view of the Samurai. This was carefully decided during Game Design steps. The visual aspect of the game should appear perfectly related to the game mechanics and theme. All should work together to give you the experience of a good play: Jocularis is the man trying to resolve this complex design.

BRICK: Guessin’ from the game's backstory and action, it looks like you've seen your share of chanbara and samurai movies. Besides my own classics like “Shogun Sexecutioner” or “Maeda Keiji, Sengoku Stud” what films or TV shows would you suggest watchin’ to set the mood for "Sake & Samurai"?

MATTEO: We loved the movie "The 7 Samurai" of Kurosawa, where the samurai were so human: dirty and rough! Also the manga "Vagabond" about Musashi Miyamoto’s history is really wonderful. About paintings we looked a lot at Hokusai, and all Ukiyo-e Art.

BRICK: What are some “Sake & Samurai” strategy tips you can impart to players?

MATTEO: Strike at the right time at who is drinking more than you: not too early, not too late! And if things get bad, join the dark side: became a spirit!

BRICK: Finally, what’s your opinion on the age old question-"Is it better to have your sake or to drink it?"

MATTEO: Drink it! Then find more and drink again!

BRICK: Thanks, Matteo! Gotta say, I never knew a game designer could have such a sense’a humor. Best’a luck to you and Albe Pavo in the future.

So there ya have it. “Sake & Samurai” is a game that can be appreciated by casual players, chanbara film enthusiasts, and drunks of all persuasions. It’s a pretty easy game to just sit down and play (especially if you grab the ‘quick start’ rules from its page on Boardgame Geek) and unlike some card/boardgames where you can get screwed by a bad hand, your skill at maxin’ out the advantages of your cards is the determinin’ factor. There’s fightin’, drinkin’, bad manners, dancin’, singin’, and hot chicks. Although the dancin’, singin’, and chicks are usually prompted by the drinkin’ rather than built into the game. It’s just like a typical night out at any of Kyoto’s most exclusive nightspots, but you can enjoy it in the privacy of your own home and not have to worry about bouncers, the cops, or high-strung terchy yakuza thugs. “Sake & Samurai” is both fun and challengin’, and the perfect party game. Our group loved it and it’s a good bet you will too-check it out on the Albe Pavo website, or look for it from other online boardgame distributors.

The Samurai Archives Introduction to Japanese History Podcast Series

2011-10-30T15:46:00.001-10:00

For the past 3 months on the Samurai Archives Podcast, your hosts have been presenting an introduction to Japanese history, from paleolithic Japan to the end of the Sengoku period. It took a lot of work, and at times felt like quite a chore, but at last we have finished our mini-opus. We'd like to thank our dedicated listeners for the feedback and questions, and present here a compilation of the entire Introduction to Japanese History series. Now that the intro series is complete, we'll be bringing you more detailed episodes covering various aspects of Japanese history - and as always, if you have any questions or interests you'd like to see covered in future podcasts, please don't be shy about letting us know. Feel free to respond to this blog post, or send questions our way on Twitter @samuraiarchives.

If you haven't been following our Introduction to Japanese History series, it goes without saying that you're in for a treat. At first we expected that it would run about 6 episodes, but in the end it turned out to last 15 episodes, and although quite detailed, we still consider it a relatively brief overview. Feel free to pick and choose which episodes to listen to - people interested in Samurai battles may choose to skip our treatment of neolithic Japan, or vice versa - so fill up the iPod, and enjoy!

Intro to Japanese History P1 - Prehistory

For part one of our Introduction to Japanese History series, we'll be starting at the beginning of the earliest history of the Japanese archipelago and the changes that took place in culture and technology from the Paleolithic period to the Jomon period, which takes us from prehistory to approximately 300BC.

Intro to Japanese History P2 - Yayoi and Kofun Periods

For part two of our Introduction to Japanese History series, we'll be covering the Yayoi period which was a sharp change from the culture of the Jomon period, where there was a massive influx of NE Asians into the Japanese archipelago. This was followed by the Kofun period, where Japan began to slowly consolidate and unify into a confederacy. The name of the Kofun period comes from the huge keyhole shaped burial mounds known as "Kofun".

Intro to Japanese History P3 - Asuka-Nara Part 1

Continuing our Introduction to Japanese History podcast series, we will examine the Asuka-Nara period over two episodes. The Asuka-Nara period (538AD-794AD) is known for it's classic art and architecture, the introduction of Buddhism, and the Taika reforms and Ritsuryo system. Japan adopted many Chinese style institutions, began to form a national government, and started to assert itself internationally in East Asia.

Intro to Japanese History P4 - Asuka-Nara Part 2

Continuing our Introduction to Japanese History series is part 2 of our Asuka-Nara podcast.
The Asuka-Nara period (538AD-794AD) is known for it's classic art and architecture, the introduction of Buddhism, and the Taika reforms and Ritsuryo system. Japan adopted many Chinese style institutions, began to form a national government, and started to assert itself internationally in East Asia.

Intro to Japanese History P5 - The Heian Period

Part five of our Introduction to Japanese History series covers the Heian period.
The Heian period (794AD-1185AD) is named after Heian-kyo (present day Kyoto). The Heian period is known for it's art, literature, and poetry, as well as the spread of Tendai and Shingon Buddhism.

Intro to Japanese History P6 - The Rise of the Warrior

In this episode of our Introduction to Japanese history series, we examine the rise of the warrior class during the Heian period. As the Heian period began, there was not a distinct warrior class, but armies were raised on an ad hoc basis when needed by the court to put down rebellions, bandits, and pirates. As the Heian period went on, provincial lords began to maintain professional warrior bands to protect their lands and legitimacy, and to go to war on behalf of the court. The court would continue to give these provincial lords legitimacy through bestowing titles and lands. But, as the Heian period went on, court control of these provincial lords and their armies began to weaken.

Intro to Japanese History P7 - The Minamoto and Taira

An important development in the history of Japan and the Heian period, was the rise of the warrior class, which would eventually bring about a true feudal system run by warriors. As more and more military responsibility was delegated to provincial warlords who were out of the sphere of influence of the capital, these warrior houses grew in power. The transition from a central government run by the Heian court to the rise of the warrior class as the controlling group began with the Taira clan, led by Taira Kiyomori, who usurped the power of the Fujiwara clan. Eventually, the only alternative for people who were at odds with the Taira clan, was to throw in their lot with the Minamoto clan of Eastern warriors, which would eventually lead to civil war.

Intro to Japanese History P8 - The Kamakura Period

In part 8 of our Introduction to Japanese History podcast, we examine the early Kamakura period. Once Minamoto Yoritomo became Shogun, he began using the authority given to him by the emperor to solidify his power. Over the course of the next 20 years the Minamoto would usurp much of the power of the imperial court, only to be replaced completely by a line of puppet shoguns controlled by the Hojo Regents.

Intro to Japanese History P9 - The Mongol Invasions in Brief

Part nine of our Introduction to Japanese History series gives a brief overview of the two attempted Mongol Invasions of Japan during the 13th century, and the effect it had on the country in general, and the Hojo regents and Bakufu specifically.

Intro to Japanese History P10 - The Early Muromachi Period

For the 10th episode in our Intro to Japanese History podcast series, we examine the events that lead to the fall of the Kamakura Shogunate. Emperor Go-Daigo, deciding he wants a return to imperial rule without a Shogunate, enlists various warrior families to support him in overthrowing the Kamakura Bakufu and the Hojo regents - however not all goes as planned as Ashikaga Takauji, his ally turned enemy, ends his dream of imperial rule and establishes the Ashikaga Shogunate. Unfortunately for the Ashikaga clan, it's not all rainbows and lollipops for the first 60 years of the Ashikaga Shogunate, as Go-Daigo's supporters set up an alternate imperial line and engage in decades of guerrilla and outright war on behalf of the emperor.

Intro to Japanese History P11 - Prelude to the Sengoku

In this episode of our Introduction to Japanese History series, we look at the 15th century and the build up to the Onin war, and what would ultimately lead to the age of the country at war - the Sengoku period.

Intro to Japanese History P12 - The Early Sengoku Period

After the Onin war in the mid-late 15th century, the centralized power of the Ashikaga Shogunate collapsed, leaving the field open to anyone ambitious and powerful enough to make a grab for power. During the first half of the Sengoku period (approximately 1477-1560) there was massive consolidation as daimyo across Japan solidified their power bases and battled for land and resources. The lack of central government left individual clans to fend for themselves, and in the ensuing chaos many would rise and fall in epic battles that anyone familiar with the pop-culture representations of the Samurai in Movies and Anime would recognize.

Intro to Japanese History P13 - Sengoku Daimyo Who's Who

For the 13th episode of our Introduction to Japanese History series, we present a "Who's Who" of Daimyo of the later Sengoku period. We cover the big names of the Sengoku, the Daimyo that anyone who has an interest in the Samurai would have heard of, and is a primer for those who are new to the Samurai. Introduced in this podcast are Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Takeda Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin, and others.

Intro to Japanese History P14 - The Wars of Oda Nobunaga

From the 1550's until his death in 1582, Oda Nobunaga was involved in constant warfare. One by one, the major Daimyo of his era - the Imagawa, the Takeda, the Asai and Asakura and others - fell before his armies. This episode, we give a concise history of Nobunaga's ambition to unify the country under his rule, from the pivotal battle of Okehazama that first put him on the national stage, to his betrayal at the hands of Akechi Mitsuhide.

Intro to Japanese History P15 - Tokugawa & Toyotomi Unification

For our final Introduction to Japanese History series podcast, we cover the last part of the Sengoku period. We start with the assassination of Oda Nobunaga by Akechi Mitsuhide in Kyoto while all of his other generals are scattered about the country. Toyotomi (Hashiba) Hideyoshi gets back to Kyoto first and avenges Nobunaga's death, and the unification of Japan continues under him, and then ultimately under Tokugawa Ieyasu. We cover the events and battles of this period, as well as answer some listener Q&A about the Sengoku period.

Bibliography and recommended reading:

Aikens, C. Prehistory of Japan (Studies in Archaeology)
Academic Pr, September 1982 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0120452804

Arnesen, Peter. The Medieval Japanese Daimyo: The Ouchi Family's Rule of Suo and Nagato
Yale University Press (1979) http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/B000PSGVY6

Barnes, Gina. The Rise of Civilization in East Asia
Thames & Hudson, July 1, 1999 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0500279748

Batten, Bruce. Gateway to Japan: Hakata in War And Peace, 500-1300
Univ of Hawaii Press, March 2006 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0824830296

Berry, Mary E. Hideyoshi (Harvard East Asian Monographs) Council on East Asian Studies, Harvard University (January 1, 1989) http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0674390261

Brown, Delmer (Editor). The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 1: Ancient Japan
Cambridge University Press, July 30, 1993 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0521223520

Brownlee, John. Crisis as Reinforcement of the Imperial Institution. The Case of the Jokyu Incident, 1221
Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Summer, 1975), pp. 193-201 http://www.jstor.org/pss/2383842

Conlan, Thomas. Friday, Carl. Currents in Medieval Japanese History: Essays in Honor of Jeffrey P. Mass
Figueroa Press (September 1, 2009) http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/1932800522

Conlan, Thomas. In Little Need of Divine Intervention: Takezaki Suenaga's Scrolls of the Mongol Invasions of Japan
Cornell Univ East Asia Program (August 2002) http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/188544513X

Durston, Diane. Old Kyoto: The Updated Guide to Traditional Shops, Restaurants, and Inns Kodansha USA; 2 edition (April 1, 2005) http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/4770029942

Edwards, Walter. Event and Process in the Founding of Japan: The Horserider Theory in Archeological Perspective
Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Summer, 1983), pp. 265-295 http://www.jstor.org/pss/132294

Farris, William Wayne. Heavenly Warriors: The Evolution of Japan's Military, 500-1300
Harvard University Asia Center, April 15, 1996 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/067438704X

Friday, Karl. Hired Swords: The Rise of Private Warrior Power in Early Japan
Stanford University Press, March 1, 1996 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0804726965

Friday, Karl. Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan (Warfare and History)
Routledge; New edition edition (December 29, 2003) http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0415329639

Friday, Karl. Teeth and Claws. Provincial Warriors and the Heian Court
Monumenta Nipponica Vol. 43, No. 2 (Summer, 1988), pp. 153-185 http://www.jstor.org/pss/2384742

Grossberg, Kenneth. From Feudal Chieftain to Secular Monarch: The Development of Shogunal Power in Early Muromachi Japan
Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 31, No. 1 (Spring, 1976), pp. 29-49 http://www.jstor.org/stable/2384184

Grossberg, Kenneth. Japan's Renaissance - The Politics of the Muromachi Bakufu
Cornell University, New York, 2001 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/1885445083

Hall, John W. Government and Local Power in Japan 500-1700: A Study Based on Bizen Province
ACLS Humanities E-Book, August 1, 2008 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/1597405957

Hudson, Mark. Ruins of Identity: Ethnogenesis in the Japanese Islands
Univ of Hawaii Press, March 2006 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0824821564

Ikegami, Eiko. Bonds of Civility: Aesthetic Networks and the Political Origins of Japanese Culture
Cambridge University Press, February 28, 2005 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0521601150

Imamura, Keiji. Prehistoric Japan: New Perspectives On Insular East Asia
Routledge, October 24, 1996 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/1857286170

Lamers, Jeroen. Japonius Tyrannus: The Japanese Warlord Oda Nobunaga Reconsidered Hotei Publishing (November 2001) http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/9074822223

Mass, Jeffrey (Ed). Court and Bakufu in Japan: Essays in Kamakura History
Stanford University Press (January 1, 1995) http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0804724733

Mass, Jeffrey. Yoritomo and the Founding of the First Bakufu: The Origins of Dual Government in Japan
Stanford University Press; 1 edition (January 1, 2000) http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0804735913

Mass, Jeffrey. Lordship and Inheritance in Early Medieval Japan: A Study of the Kamakura Soryo System
ACLS Humanities E-Book (August 1, 2008) http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/1597405981

Mason, Penelope. History of Japanese Art
Published jointly by Prentice Hall and Harry N. Abrams, Inc. October 4, 2004 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0131176013

McCullough, Helen. The Tale of the Heike
Stanford University Press; 1st edition (March 1, 1990) http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0804718032

Mishima, Yukio. The Temple of the Golden Pavilion
Vintage; Trade Paperback Edition edition (October 4, 1994) http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0679752706

Mishima, Yukio. Patriotism
New Directions; Second Edition edition (February 24, 2010) http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0811218546

Morillo, Stephen. Guns and Government: A Comparative Study of Europe and Japan Journal of World History, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Spring, 1995), pp. 75-106 http://www.jstor.org/pss/20078620

Morris, Ivan. The Nobility of Failure: Tragic Heroes in the History of Japan
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (September 1, 1988) http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0374521204

Neilson, David Society at War: Eyewitness Accounts of Sixteenth Century Japan PhD Dissertation University of Oregon, 2007 http://gradworks.umi.com/32/85/3285619.html

Ooms, Herman. Imperial Politics and Symbolics in Ancient Japan: The Tenmu Dynasty, 650-800
Univ of Hawaii Press, October 2008 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0824832353

Sansom, George. A History of Japan to 1334
Stanford University Press, 1958 http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0804705232

Souryi, Pierre. The World Turned Upside Down: Medieval Japanese Society (Asia Perspectives: History, Society, and Culture)
Columbia University Press (August 27, 2003) http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/0231118430

Toby, Ronald. Review: Rescuing the Nation from History: The State of the State in Early Modern Japan Monumenta Nipponica Vol. 56, No. 2 (Summer, 2001), pp. 197-237 http://www.jstor.org/stable/2668408

Verschuer, Charlotte Von. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's Foreign Policy 1398 to 1408 A.D.: A Translation from Zenrin Kokuhōki, the Cambridge Manuscript Monumenta Nipponica Volume 62, Number 3, Autumn 2007 https://muse.jhu.edu/journals/monumenta_nipponica/summary/v062/62.3verschuer.html

Yamamura, Kozo. Imatani, Akira. Not for Lack of Will or Wile: Yoshimitsu's Failure to Supplant the Imperial Lineage
Journal of Japanese Studies Vol. 18, No. 1 (Winter, 1992), pp. 45-78 http://www.jstor.org/stable/132707

Yoshikawa, Eiji. Taiko: An Epic Novel of War and Glory in Feudal Japan Kodansha Amer Inc; 1st edition (September 1992) http://astore.amazon.com/samurai-20/detail/4770026099

Zollner, Reinhard. Review: The Sun Also Rises. Go-Daigo in Revolt
Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 53, No. 4 (Winter, 1998), pp. 517-527 http://www.jstor.org/stable/2385743

Winning Book, Loser Samurai: Tadashi Ehara’s “Shogun & Daimyo”

2011-09-24T13:44:00.003-10:00

A while back the SA profiled Tadashi Ehara’s “Gamer’s Guide to Fedual Japan: Daimyo of 1867”. The book profiled all of the families that held daimyo status when the Tokugawa Bakufu returned power to the Imperial Family in 1867. While intended to serve as a guide for gamers, authors, screenwriters, and artists it also proved to be a valuable reference for historical purposes. It was intended as the first of a two part effort, the second of which has just been published. “Gamer’s Guide to Feudal Japan: Shogun & Daimyo-Military Dictators of Samurai Japan” proves to be a worthy follow-up to its predecessor. As author Ehara implies in the press release, the two books could in effect be called “Winners and Losers of the Samurai Era”. This would in effect be the “Losers” volume, covering the multitude of clans that died out, were dispossessed, destroyed in battle, or otherwise lost their holdings from the late Heian era to the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate. While the daimyo discussed can be termed ‘losers’ they’re some of the most famous families in Japanese history-the Taira, Minamoto, Toyotomi, Takeda, Otomo, Asai, Imagawa, Ashikaga, Kamakura Hojo, and Chiba being just a few. And while these clans might be termed losers, “Shogun & Daimyo” proves to be a winner.

Author Tadashi Ehara has a long history in the gaming industry, having been involved with Chaosium Publications and their primary line “The Call of Cthulhu” as well as being the publisher of “Different Worlds” magazine. Being born in Sapporo, Japan, Tadashi developed an interest in the history of his homeland that came to the forefront when he was gifted with a copy of E. Papinot’s classic “Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan” in the 1980’s. It formed the basis for “Daimyo of 1867”, and while still an inspiration for “Shogun & Daimyo”, Tadashi told the SA that he incorporated much more from other sources for the new book.

Ehara is frank in his admission that “this is not a scholarly piece of work”. Despite this, Shogun & Daimyo’s main sources are for the most part pretty impressive and standard college level texts. Some of them include William Deal’s “Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan”, Papinot’s “Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan”, Edwin Reischauer’s “Japan: The Story of a Nation”, Kenneth Grossberg’s “Japan’s Renaissance”, John Whitney Hall’s “Japan Before Tokugawa”, and other works by Paul Varley, Hiroaki Sato, and Conrad Totman among others. The Samurai Archives is also listed as a source (so it MUST be accurate, eh?). The book is generally laid out three columns to the page and contains hundreds of illustrations, photos, prints, family trees, and crests. It’s a nice looking trade paperback and weighs in at over 335 pages. While it might not be suitable for, say, writing a college dissertation on “Rice Weighing Methods of the Merchants of Sakai During the 11th Month of Bunroku 2” or even “Why Kiyomori Wasn’ t A Daimyo Even Though The Heike Monogatari Calls Him One” ;), you won’t find a better sourcebook for gamers (whether of the RPG variety or historical variety), authors, or amateur historians.

The book’s first section gives some background information such as how to pronounce Japanese kana and also details how certain things will be represented in the book-for example, the Japanese calendar and the order of Japanese names. It’s followed up by a timeline extending over several pages that gives a short history of the different eras from about 35000 BC to 1868. After that is an examination of the governmental systems employed by the Imperial Court, the Kamakura Shogunate, the Muromachi Shogunate, and the Tokugawa Shogunate. The organizational charts and explanations of offices for each will make this section alone a great reason to pick up the book. If you’ve ever wondered how the sometimes bewildering mishmash of offices, titles, and positions relate to each other, this will lay it all out in black and white.

After that comes biographies of the different men who held the office of “Shogun” under the Minamoto, Ashikaga, and Tokugawa. There are also bios given for the Hojo Shikken (regents) who took over from the Minamoto, along with the puppet Shoguns from the Fujiwara and Imperial Family (yes, strange as it seems, Imperial Princes actually served as Shogun at one point). Family trees for the Hojo, Ashikaga, and Tokuagawa are included. Going through this section will give the reader an excellent overview of the flow of Japanese history during the majority of the samurai era.

Following that is the real meat and potatoes of the book-a listing of over 170 daimyo clans with the clan mon, biographies of well-known family members, descriptions of their holdings, and the occasional family tree. It’s lavishly illustrated and a gold mine of information on the more notable figures of the samurai era. The entries are broken up into eras with each of the clans being listed in the era it ceased to be a player. While this is a bit confusing at first, it’s rescued by an excellent dual purpose index sorted into clans and individuals. The index also lists (in italics) all of the corresponding entries in the earlier volume “Daimyo of 1867”, so you can quickly find virtually any samurai of import with little trouble. Some of the entries further split clans into different branches-for example, the Saga-Genji, Daigo-Genji, Murakami-Genji, Uda-Genji, and Seiwa-Genji branches of the Minamoto. Some of the biographies are quite extensive, running a page or more. As with “Daimyo of 1867”, there will be many names familiar to readers but a lot of surprises as well. These entries take up roughly 200 pages on their own.

Next is a short section specifically aimed at gamers. There’s a listing of over 100 chanbara films with short recaps of each, along with how to incorporate the character types into game campaigns. It’s followed by a kanji primer where the more common kanji are laid out for use in a game setting. Suggestions for campaigns follows this, and after that another great historical resource-a gazetteer of the major roads of Japan during the Edo period. It covers the “Gokaido” (the five major roads of Japan) and supplies maps, entries for the various way stations along with ‘tourist attractions’ for each, and a general history of how the roads were set up and utilized by the populace. This would no doubt be of great help to any RPG campaign set in the Edo period, but also to those just looking for information on the day to day life of the Edo period.

Filling the book out is a random clan mon generator, a section that explains the Goshichido (the traditional regions of Japan), a modern prefecture to traditional province converter, a listing of other traditional regional names, and an extensive glossary of Japanese terms (many of which even we had never heard of). Want to know what a rensho was? How about a ryokoken or ryoshitsuji? They’re actually all the same thing-an associate regent for the Hojo Shikken that sealed the documents of the Bakufu. The answers to the mysteries of the Bunei No Eki, Udaiben, Kakitsu No Hen, Kumonjo, Fushibugyo, and Chinjufu Shogun can all be solved here as well.

Since some of the book’s sources are older, occasionally the information is a bit outdated or conflicting. For example, Kira Yoshihisa (he of “47 Ronin” fame) is given the older rendering of Kira Yoshinaka. It’s mentioned that three of Minamoto Yoshtiomo’s sons were spared by the Taira in the aftermath of the Heiji Incident-actually, it was six. Minamoto Yoritomo on page 104 is claimed to have been in the custody of Minamoto Yoshitsune’s mother, Tokiwa Gozen, when he was spared (he had actually been captured by Taira forces while fleeing with his father eastward-this entry also implies he was Tokiwa’s son, but Yoritomo’s correct mother is given in his earlier biographical entry). As you can see, these types of outdated information tend to be very minor and not nearly as bad as what’s seen in a typical Stephen Turnbull book.

An occasional outright error finds its way into the text-for example, the synopsis for the film “13 Assassins” actually describes the film “Ninjutsu Gozenjiai/Torawakamaru” (which doesn’t appear in the listings). At least two pages in the index are reversed so they don’t run in alphabetical order. And the dangers of using Wikipedia as a source come to full light in the entry for the Chiba family when it’s stated that “…the clan controlled…an area called Soma, which included the Grand Shrine of Ise”. While the scions of the Chiba would be pleased as punch to lay claim to the Grand Shrine, it is indeed in Ise, and not in the Chiba’s historical holdings in eastern Japan. What actually happened was that the Chiba commended their holdings (in effect, putting them under the Shrine’s sponsorship and protection in exchange for part of the revenue) in Soma to the Ise Grand Shrine to avoid taxation and protect their claim to Soma-this was a very common practice, particularly before the Kamakura Shogunate came along. Whoever wrote that up for Wikipedia totally botched the entry from George Sansom’s “History of Japan” that he based it on. Anyway, the point of this extended aside is not to denigrate the book, but rather to point out that you should NEVER NEVER NEVER use English language Wikipedia as a source. Check out the entry for Nagashino if you don’t believe us. It’s brutal. Anyway…

…as a whole, “Shogun and Daimyo” proves to be an invaluable source for both gamers and historians, particularly when paired with its earlier companion volume “Daimyo of 1867”. As a quick reference work for dates, clans, holdings, and historical figures, it will save much frustrating rooting around in multiple sources. We use “Daimyo of 1867” on a regular basis and it appears the new book will get an even heavier workload. It’s a winning book about the losers of the samurai class. You can pick up “Shogun & Daimyo” on Amazon through the SA Store HERE or directly from Different Worlds Publications. There’s also a special price on the Different Worlds site when picking up the new book along with the original Shogun & Daimyo.

Storming The Shogun’s Mansion-The SA’s Final Verdict On Paradox’s Sengoku

2011-09-24T07:14:00.013-10:00

Now that Paradox and the SA have given everyone a shot at winning a copy of Sengoku, it's time to take a look at the finished product. We wrote a lengthy preview of the game a few weeks ago that detailed many of its features and game mechanics, so you can check that out here. For this review, we'd like to focus instead on how well the game works in recreating the strife and intrigue of the fractured world of 15^th-16^th century Japan from both an historical and gameplay standpoint. Does the game triumphantly storm into the Shogun’s mansion, or should the heads of the developers be set on pikes on the road to Kyoto?

From a historical standpoint, Sengoku emerges as one of the best sims to date. The setup accurately portrays the situation at the beginning of the Onin War, with over 350 small provinces (called ‘kori’) up for grabs. Clan layouts and holdings are accurate and most of the starting characters are taken straight from history. As with any game of this scale, playability tradeoffs had to be made-for example, the highly localized nature of the main Hosokawa-Yamana conflict in Kyoto was difficult to recreate, but clan affiliations and conflicts are historical. Armies in the game don’t have a plethora of goofy and exotic unit types. Rather, they stick to what was actually used-ashigaru footsoldier units and mounted samurai with their foot retainers (both being supported with archers). Having armies comprised of both levies (raised on a regional basis as needed) and personal retinues (a leader’s personal standing army that follows him around) also resonates with history, allowing a clan to greatly increase the size and utility of their troops as their powerbase, economy, and wealth increase. Ninja are rare, difficult and dangerous to employ, have realistic missions, and supplement rather than unbalance the game mechanics. The influence of foreign powers and Christianity is relegated to its proper timeframe, and the advantage of the gunpowder weapons they introduced is more pronounced than in some other games.

Most of the historical glitches tend to be very minor and bordering on minutiae- for example, the majority of the hairstyles given to female characters come from the later Edo period. Clan flags often have incorrect color schemes, but this actually works better from a gameplay standpoint as it makes factions easier to differentiate (not to mention many of the color schemes have been lost to history). Players can have four wives instead of the one legal wife that would be appropriate (so just assume that the other three are concubines-if it’s Hideyoshi, he should be allowed to have a hundred or more!). And having a ‘Geisha House’ is an anachronism, as Geisha didn’t show their painted faces until the 18^th century. It does, however, sound better than ‘Whorehouse’. None of these has any impact on gameplay whatsoever, so they’re largely non-issues. The only serious historical issue we had with Sengoku was its treatment of religion. For most of Japanese history, Buddhism and ‘Shinto’ have coexisted peacefully and hand in hand. Most Buddhist temples have Shinto shrines on their grounds, Shinto deities also have incarnations as Buddhist Bodhisattvas, etc. The game, however, splits them (much as the Meiji government forcibly did in the late 1800’s) and makes a player choose between one or the other for each of their holdings. In an interview with designer Chris King, he told the SA that it was done to highlight the power of the various Buddhist warrior monk groups. We feel that the game would have been better served to have instead split the Buddhist element into different schools (Shingon/Tendai, Jodo Shinshu/Ikko-ikki, and the violent and exclusionist Nichiren school), but this would have brought a new set of problems into play. At any rate, the Shinto/Buddhist split doesn’t seem to be an issue with the playerbase. From an overall historical standpoint, Sengoku is perhaps the most accurate game to date that deals with the samurai era.

The gameplay succeeds every bit as well. Graphics are attractive and there’s a sortable map display for pretty much anything a player might need-by terrain, clan, personal holdings, kuni, diplomacy, relations, factions, and revolt risk. The interface is deep and takes some getting used to-it’s very easy to get lost and have a hard time returning to your start point. Still, any information you might find a use for is readily available. The game plays out in daily turns, but can be sped up or slowed down substantially as needed-most players find it useful to slow down the default speed, as the game moves along smoothly and quickly. Music conveys the mood well and the loading screen artwork is nicely done.

Sengoku is intended as a mid-level Paradox game and is more basic than many of their more complex entries (and more inexpensive), making it a good introduction to the world of serious strategy simulations for new players. It’s also a more straightforward game with a clearly defined goal-take at least 50% of Japan, claim the title of Shogun, and maintain your holdings for 3 years. While things might be overwhelming at first for new players, just playing a few turns of a trial game will have you comfortable with plotting the deaths of enemies and grabbing their territory in no time.

Unlike many games, your character is limited in the amount of territory he can govern-this is called his demense and is usually limited to about five provinces. Trying to govern more than this will outstrip your capacity to effectively govern and result in unrest among the people, leading to potential uprisings. This game mechanic actually works to the player’s advantage-it gives you territory and titles to gift your vassals with, strengthening your relationship with them and reducing the amount of micromanaging. The vassals in turn will develop their lands with buildings, improved castles, and guilds at no cost to yourself. Economics and province development also tend to be very basic, limited to assigning your court ministers to develop buildings that add to an area’s tax base and allow for larger retinues, strengthen castles, or establish guilds that add specific benefits. Again, this is a welcome break from number crunching and micromanaging, allowing players to concentrate on the character interaction that determines the course of the game.

The core of the gameplay is the vassal and diplomacy system. As with all the best games, it’s easy to learn but very difficult to master. Keeping an eye on potential enemies means keeping an eye on EVERYONE-even your most trusted retainers. You can’t win the game without military conquests, but that takes a substantial amount of income, honor, and time invested in plotting. However, plotting and declarations of war can result in a large loss of honor, which in turn leads to your vassals having a lower opinion of you. It’s a constant juggling act between working on keeping your power base secure and expansion. Adding to this is the need to ensure that you have produced a suitable heir (or optimally several of them) and that he’ll have the backing necessary to take command of the clan upon your character’s demise. Marry early and often, and do the same with your heirs! It’s an often overlooked aspect that can kill off a promising game in a hurry. It’s also very easy to end up intermarrying and weakening the genetic pool of your family if you’re not careful. This will result in congenital birth defects that drive down the stats of your characters, making things even harder.

And while your vassals might be happy, your people may not, leading to rebellions that can disrupt the best laid plans. If you’re really unlucky, you might even be the target of a massive Ikko-ikki uprising that could take years or even decades to eradicate. The warlords of Sengoku Japan had a multitude of threats and problems facing them, and the game pretty much throws them all in your path. If something can go wrong-expect it to do so. Never get complacent. Never stop watching your neighbors or vassals. Even the most powerful positions are only a Honno-ji away from failing miserably. And then there’s that damn foreign religion and their powerful weapons lurking in the future…

Developing plots can range from conspiring from within to overthrow a clan leader or working with neighboring clans to attack a common enemy. Plots can take years to come to fruition, and there’s always the danger of being discovered. They’re the most challenging aspect of gameplay to master, but essential to success (especially when playing as a kokujin or daimyo as opposed to a clan leader).

Military matters are handled in a pretty straightforward way that doesn’t involve trickery, battlefield genius (no real-time battles here), or involved use of terrain. Usually the side that has “the fustest and mostest” is going to come out on top. It’s more important for players to weigh the benefits of raising a levy and sending it off to attack or holding it back for defense in the event of a siege. Wise use of the standing retinue army combined with sticking to areas with advantageous terrain (and hoping the game chooses to use them during a battle) and using ‘chokepoint provinces’ (which will be available after the upcoming patch) can help out as well. The mix of units can also be important-samurai mounted horseman are more powerful than ashigaru, but are worthless when directly assaulting a castle. And again, keeping relations strong with your vassals is important as they’re far more likely to come to your aid with their retinue (which you don’t directly control) if your bonds are tight.

Early player complaints have been of the minor variety with a common issue being a lack of scripted events to add flavor to the proceedings (something which Paradox is working on for the next patch). The lack of attention given by the game to important diplomatic messages and other vital notices is also a shortcoming that’s been addressed. Still, the game is largely bug-free and seems to work well on most computers. We haven’t taken the opportunity to explore the multiplayer mode, but if you (and up to 31 friends!) would like to give it a try, it opens up a whole new human element. Find out who’s a real friend and who’s a treacherous self-serving bastard as you make and break alliances to combat the AI! You can do this either with a LAN setup, directly through the internet, or facilitated by Paradox’s ‘matchmaking’ metaserver. If the game is eventually released in Japanese language, we’ll be setting it up for a LAN campaign for our father-in-law’s samurai re-enactment group, but we’d be interested in hearing how someone’s multiplayer campaign has went.

Game balance is largely up to the player. There are five difficulty settings ranging from Very Easy to Very Hard. Each playable character is also rated for difficulty based on their holdings, troops, and starting position. Obviously, it’s going to be easier to win with a large clan with few or no enemies that’s in a strong starting position (such as being tucked away in a corner of Japan or on an island). It’s much more difficult to rise from a lowly kokujin, establish your own clan or overthrow the original one, and conquer Japan. Still, we managed to take the Chiba to the top of the rice pile and win the game even though they were a kokujin and faced with being at war with the powerful Uesugi clan. Yeah, it took a few restarts, some amazing luck in the early game with the Uesugi being fractured by internal conflicts, and some daring diplomacy. If you’re going to play as a kokujin, you’ll have to be very familiar with the game system and how plots work, and be VERY lucky. But it can be done!

One of Sengoku's strongest points is that like most Paradox games, it's a work in progress. The development team has been keeping close tabs on player reactions, likes, and dislikes. Many of these suggestions (like extending the short lifespan of characters and not wiping out unfinished construction products done by characters that die) have been incorporated into an upcoming patch which will also address the few bugs that made it into the finished game. Since the game is put together with mods in mind, the player community has wasted no time in putting together a number of interesting mods that are available to anyone who registers their game on the Sengoku forum at Paradox Interactive. Already available are mods that add building options, split some of the powerful clans into branch families, add education events, make mountain ranges truly impassable, and a fantasy scenario extending into the 1800's that shatters Japan into a state where each of its kori is independent. Perhaps the most impressive mod is '1551', where a classic 'Nobunaga no Yabou' type scenario complete with historical daimyo is set up for those who enjoy playing out the late Sengoku. Basic modding can be done by even inexperienced players, with more advanced concepts being not much harder. Without much effort we were able to change the Chiba's battle flag to its historical colors, change some character names to historical names, and boost a few stats. Between the continuing efforts of the development team and the player base, the possibilities for Sengoku are limited only by the imagination.

From both an historical and gameplay standpoint, Sengoku is an unqualified success. Players will come away with a better understanding of why things played out as they did, and an appreciation for just how difficult it was for the warlords of the era to create stability from chaos. Unlike most games where a powerful military can simply steamroll the competition, diplomacy-both internal and external-is every bit as important as martial might, and usually more so. The balancing act of rewarding one’s own vassals, watching them like hawks for treachery, developing holdings, plotting with other leaders, and conducting military campaigns means that even a strong late game position can collapse in the blink of an eye. It also means that there is always hope for those in a weak position if they excel at intrigue and keep their eyes and ears open. The option to play as a lowly kokujin holding a single kori to a powerful clan leader with dozens of vassals and provinces introduces extra levels of difficulty. From start to finish it’s an effort that faithfully reflects the Warring States era of Japan, challenging the player without having to resort to artificial stat boosts for the enemy. It belongs on the shelf of any gamer with an interest in Japanese history, and for strategy gamers in general. The game seems to be doing well, so hopefully we can look forward to expansions and other content in the future. Sengoku storms the Shogun’s mansion and establishes itself as the premier samurai strategy game for some time to come. It's available as a digital download through Amazon and many other outlets.

Winners Of The Paradox/Samurai Archives "Sengoku" Onin War Trivia Contest

2011-09-17T02:52:00.009-10:00

The entries for the Paradox/Samurai Archives "Sengoku" Onin War Trivia Contest have been collected, graded, and the winners drawn. First, here are the correct answers:

The Onin War Trivia Quiz

1) Which of the following two families were the primary combatants in the Onin War?

B) The Hosokawa and Yamana

2) Which family was traditionally given the post of Kanto Kanrei (Shogunal Deputy in Eastern Japan)?

A) The Uesugi

3) Which location served as the main battleground of the Onin War?

D) Miyako (Kyoto)

4) What does the "Onin" in "Onin War" mean?

A) it was the name of the Japanese era (nengo) that the war started in

5) Which of the following buildings was constructed by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa after the war, further depleting the Shogunate's treasury and showing how out of touch the Shogun had become?

B) Ginkakuji (The Silver Pavilion)

77% of the entries received had all five answers correct. The most frequently missed question was #2, as some answers confused the Shikken (regents) of the Kamakura Hojo with the later office of Kanto Kanrei (an office that came into existence later under the Ashikaga).

The winners of a digital copy of Sengoku are Christian T. from The Phillipines, Ashley S. from USA, Ian W. from USA, James C. from England, and Christian R. from The Netherlands.

The winners of a digital copy of Europa Universalis III Chronicles are Robert M. from USA, Michal Z. from Poland/Czech Republic, Bruno P. from Portugal, Gonçalo P. from Portugal, and Jon L. from USA.

All winners have been sent their codes via email along with instructions on how to redeem them. If you haven't received the email within 24 hours of this post, please contact us at randyschadelATsamurai-archives.com (replacing AT with @). Thanks to all who took the time and effort to enter, our friends at Paradox for supplying the great prizes, and a special thanks to Boel and Daniela at Paradox! If you're still without a copy of this great game, consider picking it up from any of these outlets.

Watch for the SA's review of the finished game within the next couple of days.

The Paradox/Samurai Archives “Sengoku” Onin War Trivia Contest

2011-09-06T00:44:00.017-10:00

Thanks to our friends at Paradox Interactive, the Samurai Archives will be giving away five copies of their upcoming release “Sengoku” as well as five copies of “Europa Universalis III: Chronicles” (which includes the “Divine Wind” expansion for Japan).

“Sengoku”, of course, is the innovative game set in the warring states period of Japanese history (the Sengoku Jidai-roughly 1467-1603) that emphasizes character interaction, diplomacy, and political skill every bit as much as combat. This exciting new simulation promises to deliver a gaming experience never before seen in Japanese history strategy games. We’ve covered it here and here on the Shogun-ki, but here’s Paradox’s capsule summary:

“Wash blood with blood” – ancient Japanese proverb
Rise to power in Feudal Japan with your Samurai family in the epic Grand Strategy Sengoku
In this deep character driven strategy game, you play as the head of an illustrious Samurai family.

Description

The year is 1467 and civil war has broken out. The authority of the Ashikaga Shoguns has collapsed and it is every man for himself in the provinces. Honor and duty vie with survival in the delicate dance of power, conquest and betrayal as you attempt to unite the land of the Rising Sun through a combination of deal-making with foreign powers, sending your powerful samurai armies into battle against your enemies, and unleashing shadowy Ninja clans under the cover of darkness to assassinate your rivals!

Features

Control a noble family in Feudal Japan

Rise in influence and power within your clan and go on to claim the ultimate prize

Conquer and grow while rewarding your most valued retainers in your bid to become Shogun

Detailed historical map of Japan during the warring states period

Make deals with external powers, including the Portuguese and the Dutch

Employ the aid of powerful Ninja clans when your Samurai armies are not enough

“Europa Universalis III: Chronicles” is the classic game that allows you to assume control of virtually any nation at any point in time from 1399-1820. “Chronicles” includes the “Divine Wind” expansion that expands the role of Japan and China within the game. We’ve also covered it here, but Paradox’s capsule for “Divine Wind” follows:

At the demand of the devout fanbase, this is the 4th expansion of the classic historical strategy game Europa Universalis III. Enhancing every aspect of the game to create an even deeper and more rewarding experience.

Features

New graphical style, with detailed and beautiful map, including lots of new provinces.

Play as any of the four major daimyo’s in Japan and vie for influence over the Emperor and control over the Shogunate.

Enhanced diplomacy, with more options for alliances and peace negotiation

Dozens of new culture-specific types of buildings, where you have greater control over the development of your provinces.

More realistic development of trade, with control over strategic resources giving bonuses.

Manage the internal factions in China to keep the Mandate of Heaven.

Over 50 Achievements for players to unlock.

So-what do you need to do to win? Well, since the SA is above all a history site, we thought an easy quiz dealing with the Onin War (the war that kicked off the Sengoku Jidai) would be an appropriate way to award the prizes. All you need to do is send in your answers to the following five simple questions, the answers to which can all be easily found online:

The Onin War Trivia Quiz

1) Which of the following two families were the primary combatants in the Onin War?

A) The Taira and Minamoto

B) The Hosokawa and Yamana

C) The Tokugawa and Toyotomi

D) The Northern Imperial Court and Southern Imperial Court

2) Which family was traditionally given the post of Kanto Kanrei (Shogunal Deputy in Eastern Japan)?

A) The Uesugi

B) The Go-Hojo (later Hojo, as opposed to the Kamakura Hojo)

C) The Ouchi

D) The Chiba

3) Which location served as the main battleground of the Onin War?

A) Edo

B) Osaka Castle

C) Minatogawa

D) Miyako (Kyoto)

4) What does the "Onin" in "Onin War" mean?

A) it was the name of the Japanese era (nengo) that the war started in

B) it was the name of the temple that was burnt down in an incident that instigated the war

C) it was the name of the retired Emperor

D) it was a Shogunal title

5) Which of the following buildings was constructed by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa after the war, further depleting the Shogunate's treasury and showing how out of touch the Shogun had become?

A) Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion)

B) Ginkakuji (The Silver Pavilion)

C) Higashi Honganji (Eastern Temple of the Original Vow)

D) Nishi Honganji (Western Temple of the Original Vow)

Paradox/Samurai Archives "Sengoku" Onin War Trivia Contest Official Rules

1) To enter, send an email with your answers to the quiz along with your
first name and country of origin to randyschadelATsamurai-archives.com
(replacing the AT with @ )

2) The contest is open to everyone-you don't need to be an SA member to
win. But if you like the game, you'll love the SA, so register anyway ;)

3) Only one entry per email address/IP Address. Multiple submissions from
either will result in all being disqualified. The idea here is obviously
one entry per person, but over the net it'd be almost impossible to
enforce. But since we're all honorable samurai who follow the tenets of
Bushido, that shouldn't be a problem, right?

4) Prizes will be drawn from the pool of correct entries. The first five
names drawn will receive a digital copy of Paradox's new "Sengoku" PC
Game, and the next five names will receive a digital copy of Paradox's
"Europa Universalis III Chronicles" PC Game. Odds of winning depend on the
number of correct entries submitted. In the (highly) unlikely event ten
correct entries are not received, remaining prizes will be awarded in a
random drawing from the remaining entries.

5) The contest will be open until 12:01 AM on Saturday, September 17th (as
determined by United States Eastern Standard Time). All entries received
after then will be void. Winners will be announced sometime on Saturday,
September 17th on the Paradox Interactive Forum, The SA's Japanese
Entertainment Forum, and right here.

6) Winners will be notified by email and given their code along with
instructions on how to redeem it.

7) To redeem your prize, you'll need:

A) A computer capable of running the games along with an internet
connection. Here are the specs for running Sengoku:

System requirements

Operating system: XP/Vista/Windows7

Processor: Intel® Pentium® IV 2.4 GHz or AMD 3500+

Memory: 2 Gb RAM

Hard disk space: 2 GB Available HDD Space

Video: NVIDIA® GeForce 8800 or ATI Radeon® X1900

Resolution at least: 1024*768

Sound: Direct X-compatible sound card

DirectX®: DirectX 9

Controller support: 3-button mouse, keyboard and speakers

Special multiplayer requirements: Internet Connection for multiplayer

B) You'll also need a Gamersgate Account. If you don't have an account,
just go to gamersgate.com and register-it's free and the site is great.

C) Substitute codes will not be issued under any circumstances. There will will no substitution of prizes.

8) All decisions of the kami-like judges (that being Tatsunoshi of the SA
and his lovely wife Ayame, who will be drawing the names) are final.

Again, thanks to our friends at Paradox Interactive for providing the
prizes! Special thanks to Boel Bermann, Daniela Sjunnesson, and Susana Meza Graham of the Paradox PR Department.

You can learn more about Sengoku at:

Sengoku Game Website
Sengoku Game Facebook
Sengoku Game Twitter
Paradox Forums

And preorder it at Gamersgate.com .

Nefarious Schemes and Office Warfare: The SA Interview with Sengoku’s Development Team

2011-09-02T07:54:00.016-10:00

After our preview of the upcoming PC game Sengoku from a few weeks back, we thought it would be interesting to bring an interview with the creators of the game to Shogun-ki readers. Heavy on the politics, scheming, and complex alliances that the era was noted for, this innovative game also saw rough Sengoku justice delivered by Paradox staffers upon each other during multiplayer games. We’re assuming the good natured battles left enough staffers alive to complete the game on time for its September 13^th release, and that their heads aren’t decorating the Rokujo riverbed in Kyoto.

In the following interview, CK is game designer Chris King, NS is historical researcher Niklas Strid, and SA is the SA’s Tatsunoshi (Randy Schadel).

We first talked with Chris King.

SA: Can you give us a little background on your primary development/design team? Who are they and what are their responsibilities? Have they worked as a team on any other projects?

CK: The core design team was myself (Chris King, the lead designer), Johan Andersson (head of development), and Thomas Johansson (project lead). We worked together on Hearts of Iron 3 and Victoria 2. This is the core team, but after that it was everyone in the team, even those on other projects who all contributed toward the game.

SA: With "Total War: Shogun 2" having been released earlier in the year, there will no doubt be the inevitable comparisons made between it and Sengoku. What about Sengoku will make it an entirely different and fresh game experience for players?

CK: As a general rule when it comes to making a game you create a core focus of the game and stick to it. Everything you add beyond that is to enhance that core experience. The Total War games are firmly focused on the tactical battles, and most players agree they do them very well. When we began to look at development of Sengoku we knew that our strength is something else than what the Total War games offer. We felt we were good at higher level strategy games and we focused away from combat onto the greater strategic interaction, trying to focus in on the interaction between the characters.

SA: Can you give us a general outline of the different steps taken in the development of Sengoku? What all did it go through between the initial concept and the final release?

CK: The first thing we think about when designing a new game is: can we make it fun and would we want to play this game? The answer has to be yes, because if we wouldn’t want to play this game then who will? ;) After that you move onto the practicalities of can you actually produce your concept. Once those two hurdles are cleared all you have to do is make the game.

SA: The Clausewitz Engine (used by Europa Universalis III and Victoria II, among others) along with facets of the upcoming Crusader Kings II were used to build Sengoku. What was behind the decision to use these-what makes them appropriate for Japan's Age of Warring States?

CK: Crusader Kings II is really the key one, Europe during the Crusader Kings II time period shares two key similarities with the Warring States period. The political structure is feudal and the personalities, and their relationships with each other, drove the time period. Starting with that foundation you can a graft onto this foundation a uniquely Japanese experience.

SA: Based on a preview edition of the game, Sengoku does an excellent job of replicating the precarious situation most clan leaders of the time (15th-16th century Japan) found themselves in, no matter how powerful-they were all sitting on a house of cards that their retainers could easily knock out from under them. Many different factors (such as limiting the number of provinces a player can directly control, tying vassals to construction, or giving a boost to a character's stats based on the abilities of his wife and concubines) subtly work together to underline the importance of having trustworthy and capable vassals. Mastering character interaction is as vital to a winning effort as raising and deploying your armies. What are some tips and suggestions you have for players when they first sit down to play the game?

CK: Vassals ability to backstab you is limited by two key factors. Most importantly is your own personal honour. If you keep your honour high enough your vassals have to remain loyal. The second is their relative power. Only when a vassal becomes powerful enough in relation to your clan are all restrictions lifted off them. So watch your own honour and try to avoid having your subordinates get too powerful.

SA: Players can choose to play as a lowly kokujin trying to impress his lord-or as the powerful head of a clan trying to please his retainers, keep the clan united, and wage war (or even be a daimyo, which has elements of both). These make for totally different gaming experiences (and excellent replay value). How many unique characters will players be able to choose from at the beginning of the game-and how much of a chance do those poor kokujin have of clawing their way to the top and claiming the title of Shogun?

CK: We haven’t done a count, but we estimate there are at least 200 unique kokujin in the game at the start. Now to be frank clawing your way from one province to Shogun isn’t easy, but we know that players will want to do this so we have made sure there is a route. Your first job is to become head of a clan. There are two ways to do this. If you are a family member of the clan you are in you can be elected leader of the clan by the vassals of the clan. So you need to convince the other clan members to like you, once you are at the top all you have to do is stay there. Second route is to form your own clan. If you gain enough power, or if your clan is weakened enough you can strike out on your own. From there it is game on.

SA: Why was the traditional Japanese 'Shinto-Buddhist' religious base split into two different factions (and allowing players to only follow one or the other)?

CK: It was because of the power the various warrior monk orders had in Japan. They were already a political force in the Ashikaga Shogunate and continued to be a force all through the Senguko period. So we felt it would be good to split them in two because of this.

SA: Paradox has a strong international player base. Was this the driving force behind the decision to not use too many Japanese terms in game?

CK: Japanese terms add a certain amount of immersion to a game. However, if you add too many you start to confuse things for people. So we tried to strike a balance between immersing players in Japan without demanding they have a Masters Degree in Japanese language, history and culture.

SA: Was there anything left out of the game due to time and budget constraints that you would have liked to have seen included?

CK: There is so much we could have added but felt constrained not to. Still if I were to pick one I would have loved to have added more interesting things to happen with the three religions.

SA: What we've viewed of the artwork (both on the loading screens and the box art) looks excellent. Who are the talented individuals who produced these gems?

CK: Our art team of Fredrik, Jonas and Niklas were behind the graphic look of the game. The worked hard to try and get the graphics in the game looking functional and good while at the same time trying to capture a feeling of Japan. The artist who drew the loading screens was Niklas. The cover art is created by a very talented freelancer named Viktor Titov.

SA: While testing the game, which of your team proved to be the best at thrashing his opponents-or at least THOUGHT they were? Any plans for members of the team to take part in online multiplayer campaigns?

CK: I have to say the current award goes to Darkrenown who decided to go and destroy Podcat in one of our office multiplayer games. Darkrenown justified this because he felt that Podcat should be spending more time patching Hearts of Iron 3.

SA: The staff of Paradox not only develops the games but also plays and supports them once they're released. This takes the form of answering questions from gamers on the Paradox Interactive forums, releasing patches to enhance and expand gameplay, and incorporating suggestions from players in future releases. Does being actively involved with the people who actually play the games help with designing future efforts? Do players ever come up with tactics and strategies that surprise you and weren't factored in while designing a game?

CK: Players always surprise us; it is one of those unwritten rules of game design! So for me it is not a question of what, but when. The nice thing about the forum is we get to know not just what people are doing, but also the details of why it works. This is the key to improving the game in the future and that´s why we really appreciate our active forum and our gamers feedback.

SA: Paradox games are known for being extremely friendly to modding. While no one can predict where the player base might take Sengoku, what do you see as some of the more likely targets for modders to tinker with?

CK: I don’t even try to imagine what modders come up with. The never cease to surprise me! J

SA: What's on the horizon for the team after Sengoku is wrapped up? If the game does well, can we look forward to expansions or similar games on other eras of Japanese history? Any dream projects you'd like to see made reality?

CK: If we were to come back to Japan after a successful Sengoku I would love to do an expansion on the game. There are so many areas we felt we should pass over due to time constraints that we could spend an age adding more depth to this era. The invasion of Korea is one such example. But that all depends on if gamers enjoy Sengoku and if they will want more after the game release. Time will tell.

The SA was also fortunate enough to have a talk with Niklas Strid. Niklas is an Associate Developer at Paradox and the Researcher and Scripter on Sengoku. He has two BA’s in Screenwriting as well as a degree in game design. His first project for Paradox was working on Divine Wind, helping to flesh out Manchuria and Korea in the Europa Universalis game series. Aside from Sengoku, he’s currently involved with Crusader Kings II.

SA: Tracking down information on all the 'clans', their leaders, and their holdings at the beginning of the Onin War had to have been a lengthy and involved process, but Sengoku appears to have pulled it off nicely. What were some of your primary sources used to do research for the game?

NS: After browsing the Internet for whatever little information in English I could find there I tried the book stores and local libraries but it was hard to find books on Japan in general and anything before 1900 in particular (in comparison there where usually 10-15 times the number of books on China or Korea). But at the Royal Library in Stockholm I tracked down Paul Varley's book The Onin War from 1967 which turned out to be a lifesaver, and gave me a good general understanding of the conflict and the political climate, as well as a number of important characters and details about some of the succession conflicts that rage when the game starts. The great difficulty with this game was of course that most sources only were available in Japanese and many of them not obtainable on the Internet, so I set out to recruit some additional researchers that could help me out and found a small group of dedicated and very knowledgeable members on our own forum. So even though I'm rather proud of my work when it comes to the historical setup and feel of the game, I would not have been able to achieve it without their invaluable help.

SA: In any historical game, there's a trade-off between playability and accuracy. In your opinion, what was the biggest compromise made in the game between the two?

NS: Personally I think the Onin War and its repercussions were the hardest one to represent in a grand strategy game like this. Even though we have a rather accurate setup of which clans were involved and who was fighting who, we couldn't really represent the fact that the conflict was so centered around the capital, and only later spread out into the provinces. So we have a somewhat larger conflict when the game starts as the involved clans will fight each other over a much larger area. But considering how much accuracy we have managed to squeeze in, I feel that this point is a rather small one. The close-quarter street-fighting just didn't fit into this game.

SA: On the other hand, what were some historical facets you were happy to see make it (or NOT make it) into Sengoku?

NS: I'm happy that we ended up with a much more detailed and accurate setup than what was initially planned for when it comes to things like the map, clans, crests, characters, and the Onin War. And also the inclusion of some important historical events like the arrival of Europeans and the introduction of firearms and the way in which they are spread throughout Japan.

SA: At game's start, about how many of the charcacters in the game are taken straight from history? Will players see new clans emerge into prominence later in the game like the Go-Hojo, Saito, Tokugawa, Maeda, or Hashiba?

NS: Most if not all of the landed characters are taken from history and given traits and stats that reflect their historical counterparts. All in all I think we have somewhere around 400 scripted characters. Many of clans that later became famous are present as small vassal clans at the start of the game, and if they can survive an early onslaught and play it smart they might end up as large independent clans at one point. New clans can also be formed, and these draw their names from other historical clans that aren't represented at the start of the game.

SA: Why were armies split into 'retinues' (forces whch are directly attached to a lord and comprise his personal army) and 'levies' (provincial forces)?

NS: Splitting armies into levies and retinues where done to try and represent the shift in army size that happened during this period, where you at the game's start have access to some levy troops boosted by a small retinue, whereas later these levies will largely play a secondary role as you rely more and more on a large and professional retinue. Many of the clans that get conquered will also turn into wandering retinue bands that you can hire, and as more and more of Japan is solidified under a few clans, more and more of these ronin-for-hire will turn up, making it possible for you to put together armies of the size that the Toyotomi and Tokugawa later commanded.

SA: One of Sengoku's most important game mechanics is that of 'honor'. Rather than equating honor with the later idealized and largely fictional Edo period concept of Bushido, the game instead sees it more as 'being seen to do the right thing enough to where you can get away with being underhanded'. Honor in the game can even be purchased with money. What are some of the things players can do to build up honor and what can they do that will deplete it?"

NS: Honor can be gained in a number of ways from handing out provinces - or kori - that you conquer, to granting some of your vassals the daimyo titles that come under your clan's influence, to sponsoring the Emperor's court. Honor can also be gained from following a religious faction or establishing certain buildings.

The SA would like to thank Chris and Niklas for their time and expertise. Sengoku will be available September 13th for direct download on Gamersgate (along with other venues), and a retail box version can be picked up at Amazon UK. Don’t forget to keep checking the SA for details on the ”Paradox/Samurai Archives Sengoku: Onin War Trivia Contest” to win a downloadable copy of the finished game. Until then, you can always check out the SA’s Sengoku page for the latest news along with Sengoku related links. And watch out for Darkrenown.

Stephen Turnbull, Slayer of Ronin

2011-08-27T08:16:00.014-10:00

Most everyone with an interest in pre-modern Japanese history (and we're assuming that's anyone reading this) knows of Stephen Turnbull. Describing himself as "one of the world's foremost military historians of the medieval and early modern periods", Turnbull is usually lauded by those new to the field and panned by those with some experience. Relying heavily on Edo period legends and secondary sources, his books make for entertaining reading but usually contain a healthy dose of misconceptions, errors, and editing that would make a fifth grader cringe. He's a polarizing personality on the Samurai Archives Citadel forum. While we've reviewed several of his books favorably, we've still taken him to task for the overall sloppiness and careless nature of some of his books.

For several months we've known that Turnbull was writing a book on the 47 Ronin. You all know the story-or at least the popular version where the 47 shining paragons of Bushido led by the stalwart Oishi Kuranosuke slay the evil and corrupt Lord Kira who was responsible for the death of their fair minded, upstanding and exemplary Lord Asano. As we've pointed out many, many times over the years (on both the forum and the Shogun-ki) the legend did not stand up under the glare of critical analysis. Asano was a loutish lecher, Oishi was a drunkard long before being made ronin and neglected his duties in training Asano, and Kira was a typical Edo period bureaucrat. The Ronin were more concerned at first with keeping their positions. After the Asano house was abolished, many possibly hoped to parlay a successful raid into pardons and new jobs. The question was, would "The Revenge of the 47 Ronin-Edo 1703" follow the newest findings, or would Turnbull stick with the dearly held Edo period legends he had espoused in his earlier books?

The first thing we usually do with a new book is to check out its sources and bibliography. While being an Osprey book, it was a foregone conclusion it wouldn't have footnotes or endnotes. But the sources Turnbull used were some of the best, up-to-date scholarly sources on the Ako Incident available. Numbered among them was Beatrice Bodart-Bailey's "The Dog Shogun", "Genroku Ako Jiken", and the landmark series of articles appearing in Monumenta Nipponica by Henry Smith and others that began to question seriously the validity of the Ronin legend.

It being a Turnbull book, it was also loaded with a variety of excellent photos, maps, prints, and plates. There are maps showing the likely layout of Kira's mansion (just a typical hatamoto mansion, not a fortified stronghold as often depicted), the route taken by the Ronin after the assault, and spots along the Tokaido road stretching from Edo to Kyoto (and stretching to Ako) that figured in the legend. There's also an excellent chart giving the names of each of the Ronin that specifies what unit they were assigned to during the raid and the weapon they are traditionally associated with. It also gives the 'aliases' that the Ronin were known by in prints and plays that were produced in the aftermath of the assault on Kira's mansion-writers and artists during the Edo period were forbidden to use the names of post-15th century historic personages in their works.

But what about the text?!?! It's divided into chapters on the Chronology, Origins (including Asano's failed assault on Kira), Initial Strategy, The Plan, The Raid, and an Analysis. And Turnbull absolutely nails it. He's delivered the goods-in spades. He pulls no punches when it comes to tearing down the walls of the legend that has grown up around the Ronin. Up to date on the latest scholarship (such as the recent discovery that Kira's name wasn't 'Yoshinaka' but 'Yoshihisa'), Turnbull clearly points out where fiction and fact don't mesh, and even gives great care when using dates (presented both as Japanese lunar dates and their Western equivalents). He presents all the different theories surrounding the '47th Ronin', Terasaka Nobuyuki (who either ran off before the raid or was told by the other Ronin to leave), concluding that whatever happened it was highly unlikely that he was sent as a messenger to inform the Asano family the raid had succeeded. And he does it all in his typical entertaining manner-some of our favorite short passages from the book:

"...I (Turnbull) shared fully and largely uncritically in the concepts and images provided by the popular version of the story..."

"...I sat peacefully with a cup of tea while a priest (at Kezo-ji) calmly explained to me how everything I had ever read about the Forty-Seven Ronin was complete nonsense".

"...hardly a word of it is true. The date was 1703, not 1702. Their victim's name was Yoshihisa not Yoshinaka. He was no coward. Greed and treachery were not involved and he played almost no part in Asano's death. Not all of Asano's 270 former retainers joined the plot or even sympathized with it. Religion played almost no part in their deliberations. The secrecy involved in their convoluted plot compounded the utter illegality and underhand nature of their act, to which the Shogun responded correctly by invoking the law of the land. The reaction by their contemporaries involved condemnation in addition to admiration, with both the Forty-Seven Ronin and their late lord being dismissed as cowards and a disgrace to the name of samurai. Finally, instead of 47 loyal samurai there were (according to some authorities) actually only 46, or maybe even 48. In fairness to the popular account, however, I can assure the baffled reader that on the night the raid was launched it was indeed snowing".

"By 1701 the 60-year-old-Kira Yoshihisa had served successive Shoguns as a loyal and utterly reliable master of court ceremonies for about 40 years. It was a role that required minute precision to detail and the ability to organize with clockwork precision. A man in that position, one can safely assume, did not suffer fools gladly. When faced, therefore, with having to instruct in etiquette a young daimyo to whom court ceremonial was much less interesting than court ladies, and a man who appeared ignorant of the most basic learning and yet enjoyed an income 11 times greater than his stuffy old teacher, Yoshihisa's self-control was to be tested to the limit".

(about Asano) "The main means of promotion among his retainers appeared to be their success in obtaining women for him. He was surrounded by flatterers and toadies. These flatterers and toadies included, of course, the future Forty-seven Ronin".

"...the population who lived in the gaudy world of Genroku craved a more direct heroism of a bygone age. If Kira Yoshihisa represented anything at all to them, it was the ordered, compassionate, legalistic and very boring world of the Shogun Tsunayoshi, not the exciting world of the sword-wielding samurai. To embrace this world the public had to ignore deceit, deception and a callous massacre, and, by creating a demand for the enduring myth of the Forty-Seven Ronin, ignore it they did".

Bravo! For all that, Turnbull keeps his tone as neutral as possible, never vilifying the Ronin needlessly or downplaying their well organized and carried out assault. He's not pursuing any sort of agenda and it makes for a fair and balanced presentation of the facts.

We found the section of the book dealing with the '17 Loyal Retainers of Lord Kira' to be the most intriguing (these being the 17 people killed by the Ronin during the raid). Contrary to what many Japanese sources state, it seems that Kira had 14 armed guards in the mansion on the night of the assault (not the 3-5 that are usually given). This changes the perception of the raid quite a bit-rather than a nine to one advantage in numbers, the Ronin instead appear to have enjoyed only a three to one superiority (and also means that they only killed three civilians, not the nine or so they are usually blamed for). Turnbull does an excellent job of backing up his statement, examining Kira's stipend and breaking it down into the composition of the troops the Bakufu would expect him to provide. The final tally matches almost perfectly with the numbers seen at the Kira mansion on the night of the raid. Turnbull also examines the 17 names given on the memorial to Kira's retainers at the former site of his mansion in Matsusaka Park in Tokyo, where it's shown that 14 are samurai. It's excellent work and Turnbull is to be commended for it.

The book is rounded out by a short examination of the Ronin in art and literature, a guide to the sites and memorials associated with the raid, and suggestions for further reading. The cottage industry that the Ronin have become (second perhaps only to the 'Bum of Tosa', Sakamoto Ryoma) is borne out in a photo of a souvenir shop loaded to the rafters with 47 Ronin items.

There are a few minor issues with the book. For example, Turnbull states that the Ronin committed ritual suicide, whereas (except for one) they were all beheaded BEFORE beginning the act. There are also the typical editing and spelling problems that Turnbull's books are notorious for. I'm sure there will be other minor issues that will crop up when we subject the book to an in-depth reading, but considering its overall excellence and copious new information, these are just small blemishes.

However, not all the latest Turnbull/Ronin news is encouraging. It should be noted that according to an interview on the University of Leeds site, Turnbull acted as the historical consultant on the upcoming Keanu Reeves version of the 47 Ronin story being filmed in Hollywood. According to Turnbull, "I've was asked to be historical adviser on a new film that's being made starring Keanu Reeves. The producers wanted it to be as historically and culturally accurate as possible, so they consulted me - which was incredibly exciting!"

This 'historically and culturally accurate' film will also be including 'computer generated fantastic creatures'. And the sad thing is, the fantastic creatures will likely be far more historically accurate than the film's portrayal of the 47 Ronin story.

And speaking of 'fantastic creatures based on beasts', we decided to put the book to its ultimate test. Cracking open the chained door of the Samurai Archives fruit cellar a couple of inches, we tossed down a copy. Down below, we heard the bellow of disbelief from the imprisoned 47 Ronin cultists, followed shortly by the chaos of their death throes. Mission accomplished!

In our opinion this is far and away Turnbull's best book to date with the possible exception of "The Kakure Kirishitan of Japan". It immediately becomes the best English language book on the 47 Ronin (it should be noted that the West's preeminent scholar on the Ako Ronin, Henry Smith, has yet to author a book on the subject). Given Turnbull's following in pop culture history, it's no exaggeration that with this single work he may have slain the 47 Ronin-or at least the legend that for far too long has been accepted as fact. While it will take years to fully be relegated to the realm of fiction and fantasy, Turnbull has taken the first steps towards introducing the real story to the world of non-academia. Since it's a revelation that many of his readers might be highly resistant to and might cost him a few of them, it was a bold move. With the steady improvement of his work over the past five years and his increasingly ambitious research ethic, one hopes that THIS is the Stephen Turnbull we continue to see. Be sure to pick up your copy at the Samurai Archives Bookstore, powered by Amazon.com.

Abandoned By The Heavens-"The Clone Returns Home"

2011-08-13T22:12:00.006-10:00

Over the years, the releases from Animeigo's 'other' line of Japanese films (as opposed to the chanbara and jidaigeki classics they're known for) have always been top quality. From the cornball but touching 'Tora-san' comedies to the bleak tragedy of 'Black Rain', they've always represented some of the best films Japan has to offer. We have to admit, though, that we didn't know what to expect when we received "The Clone Returns Home" (2009). Sure, it won many awards-it was the 2006 winner of the Sundance/NHK International Filmmaker’s Award, the Official Selection of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival (and 24+ others), the Winner for Best Visual Achievement at the 2009 New York Asian Film Festival, and the Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2009 Fantasia International Film Festival for Best Cinematography. However, over the years we've found mainstream critics to be about as reliable as a Fox News broadcast or Mark Dacascos History Channel Special. Animeigo's synopsis promised an SF film that wasn't really SF, but that used the medium as a vehicle to examine the mysteries of human existence. Would 'Clone' prove to merit its accolades, or like its central character Kohei would it be consigned to the void?

The story is simplicity itself. When veteran astronaut Kanemoto falls victim to an accident during a space walk, Takahara Kohei (Oikawa Mitsuhiro) finds himself in line to receive the next mission. Under pressure from superiors, Kohei agrees to become the first 'official' subject for a cloning program (or 'life insurance', as it's termed). The process in effect manufactures a full grown version of the test subject in a 'save state', producing an exact replica complete with memories up to that point. During his mission in space, Kohei discovers the probable cause of Kanemoto's death-and falls victim to it himself. With his death, a clone is produced. There are immediate complications. The clone is fixated on a memory from Kohei's past involving his twin brother Noboru. Kohei is in effect a clone twice over-with the original being an exact twin and the clone being an exact copy of the original. When the clone escapes the research center, Professor Teshigawara is brought in an attempt to 'fix' the problems in downloading memory. Meanwhile, the clone attempts to come to terms with its existence-and with the mysterious spacesuit it finds as it is drawn towards Kohei's childhood home.

The film's tone is heavy with the emotional isolation and despair felt by virtually all the characters. This is reflected both in the film's environments and in the performances of the actors. Characters wander through the vast emptiness of the cold chrome and glass of the research center, almost always alone. The wreckage of Kohei's childhood home reflects the state of his emotions as well. The film has a very deliberate pace (putting it mildly) and indulges in the extremely lengthy takes that Japanese directors are known for. This actually works in the film's favor, accentuating the remoteness and isolation. The only warm space in the film is Kohei's childhood home in flashbacks-and even that is short lived. Everyone in the film seems guilty of something. Kageyama is the administrator of the cloning project. As indicated both by his name (literally translated as 'Shadow Mountain') and the actor playing him (Shimada Kyusaku, who played a similar 'soulless bureaucrat' role in "The Princess Blade"), Kageyama lives only for the project and isn't above arranging for the early exit of a test subject. Rather than the scientists, he's the real Frankenstein behind the creation of artificial life. Professor Teshigawara (Shinagawa Toru) seems benign by Kageyama's standards, but he has been guilty of unsanctioned cloning and sees Kohei as little more than a test case for a theory. Kohei makes a deliberate decision to not inform his wife Tokie (Nagasaku Hiromi) of the cloning program, leaving her to be shocked, anguished, and heartbroken when the clone is unveiled. And of course Kohei feels guilt over what happened to his twin Noboru many years ago. The air of isolation, coldness, and detachment gives the scenes with emotion a much greater impact. The simple appearance of dead astronaut Kanemoto's mother at a protest rally, silently clutching a framed photograph of her son, speaks volumes-as does a scene late in the film where a grown Kohei enters a door to rejoin his mother and brother, with the shoji sliding shut behind him.

Kohei's relationship with his mother and brother Noboru is integral to the story. Early in the film, his mother Yoko (Ishida Eri) lies dying in a hospital bed. This is where we learn of Kohei's childhood and his twin brother Noboru. They engage in the typical twin antics of pretending to be the other one and trying to weasel out of trouble by blaming their sibling. The passing of his mother, her desire for him to live on no matter what the cost, and the incident with his brother play a big part in Kohei's decision to become the first cloning subject. Kohei has never quite come to terms with his youth, and in effect the decision to have himself cloned is another way to avoid facing it. However, the repressed memories prove to be too much for the clone, becoming the focus of his existence and setting him on a path to come to terms with them.

One of the more interesting concepts raised by the film is that of 'resonance'-a theory proposed by Professor Teshigawara. He believes that when the original being dies, its 'soul' or 'spirit' attaches itself as a sort of 'guardian spirit' to the cloned body. This is in keeping with traditional Shinto thought-you could call it a kami for the new age. Teshigawara himself has some experience with the phenomenon, and his encounter with his dead granddaughter is one of the most touching scenes in the film-made all the more tragic by the fact that Teshigawara is oblivious to it. In the film 'resonance' manifests itself through an accompanying 'ringing' sound when the guardian spirit might be near. The same ringing sound was heard earlier in the film when Kohei's mother produces it by running her finger around the edge of a half filled water glass, and perhaps this is why it becomes the Kohei clone's 'cue' for the appearance of the original's kami. But what if there isn't just one clone? What if there are two or three? Will the later ones find themselves bereft of the original's spirit? The film gives no easy answers, although a scene at the ruins of Kohei's childhood home hints that the lot of the clones might not be entirely hopeless-and the reappearance of an old injury gives hope that the replicant might indeed not be abandoned by the heavens.

Once again, Animeigo has produced a spot-on translation. Subtitles are also color coded for scenes when multiple characters are conversing where it would usually be difficult to determine who was talking. The extras are headed by a lengthy 'Making Of' featurette. While most 'making ofs' focus on special effects, CGI, and makeup, this one largely focuses on Director Nakajima Kanji's efforts to coerce the performance he's looking for out of his cast members, both veteran and young (in the case of the Tsukamoto twins, who play the young Kohei and Noboru). Most interesting are his efforts working with lead actor Oikawa, who's a well known and flamboyant actor and musician in Japan known to his fans as 'Michee'-getting Oikawa to dial back his on-stage persona to portray the introspective and quiet Kohei was one of the director's biggest concerns. Interviews with the other actors bring insights into their characters. Beyond the 'Making Of'', extras are light. There are a couple of trailers (Clone's film festival trailer along with "The Ballad of Narayama"), three short bios of Oikawa, Nakajima, and Executive Producer Wim Wenders, an image gallery, and program notes (only about three, but to be fair a movie set in the present doesn't require the cultural notes that the chanbara films Animeigo usually releases do).

The Clone Returns Home is a low-key film for those times when you're in a contemplative mood. If you're looking for SF action, you'll be disappointed. While ostensibly a movie about technology, the issues it raises about the nature of identity, the presence of a soul, and the far-reaching effects of childhood trauma are universal. At its heart, The Clone Returns Home is a modern day ghost story with overtures of the Frankenstein legend-all done in a non-sensationalistic and true to life manner. The moral implications of rapidly evolving technology are brought home with an emotional impact. You can buy "The Clone Returns Home" directly from Animeigo at a discount or through Amazon.

All images © 2008 The Clone Returns Home Film Partners.

On Top Of The Rice Pile-Paradox's Sengoku Preview

2011-07-23T09:58:00.008-10:00

We were recently afforded the opportunity to play a preview edition of Paradox Interactive's upcoming computer game of the "Age of the Warring States" in 15th and 16th Century Japan-"Sengoku". As this is a preview of an unfinished version (bugs were still being ironed out and play balance adjusted to make things ready for the game's Q3/2011 release), we're going to largely refrain from pro-or critical-commentary and concentrate instead on what you can expect to see when you click 'Start'.

Like most Paradox games, players might find things somewhat intimidating at first and be at a loss where to start. After all, there are over 350 areas of Japan to conquer-and almost as many possible characters to start out with. However, once you've assigned the councilor positions in your court, given them tasks, and raised your first army and sent it off to battle, it's easy to settle in to the proceedings. There are tips given for first time players when accessing different functions and screens to help you along. The object-to control 50% of Japan, declare yourself Shogun, and then hold that title for three years against an onslaught of enemies. The game runs continuously in daily turns, but like 'Europa Universalis' can be greatly sped up, slowed down, or paused as the player chooses. The preview edition contained two choices-both starting on May 26, 1467 (dates are given in the Western calendar rather than the Japanese lunar calendar). Choose from the Onin War (so named for the Japanese era in which it began) or the Kanto War (taking place in eastern Japan). Since the Kanto War not only featured the strongest clan in the game from a military standpoint (the Uesugi, the Shogunate Deputy in the east or "Kanto Kanrei") but also the fearless warriors of the Chiba, we decided to give it a go.

We started out as the Uesugi. The basic area of the game is the 'kori'-the 350 or so individual provinces of Japan that make up 'kuni'. Kuni are the traditional provinces of Japan readers might be familiar with from other games-Satsuma, Shimosa, Owari, Mino, and Mikawa, for example. In game terms, characters who only have 'kori' titles are termed 'kokujin' and usually owe their allegiance to their daimyo (who control one or more 'kuni'). Especially early in the game, daimyo roughly correspond to the samurai who held 'shugo' positions (governor of a kuni). The daimyo, in turn, owes his fealty to the clan leader. Clan leaders aren't what you would expect from the name-rather, they're the leaders of several allied families, not all of whom will carry the same family name. In game terms, Oda Nobunaga would be a clan leader, with the Akechi, Hashiba, Niwa, Shibata, Maeda, et al being considered part of his 'clan'.

The Kanto War was fought between the Uesugi and elements of the Ashikaga Shogunate on the one hand with their opponents being rogue elements of the Ashikaga and their allies in the Chiba (some of whom ended up fighting alongside the Uesugi). We chose to play as the Uesugi clan leader...even though he turned out to be a minor with a regent running the show for him. The Uesugi start out with an enormous military advantage, and it took only three years or so of game time to leisurely wipe out the opposition with minimal losses. The focus here was mainly on raising and deploying troops. Armies can be raised from local levies from each kori, or from retinues that are loyal to a specific leader and follow him around the map. There are only two basic troop types in the game-Ashigaru/jizamurai and mounted samurai with their foot retainers (infantry and cavalry, respectively, both with built in bowmen). Later in the game (after the arrival of the Portuguese) ashigaru can be outfitted with gunpowder weapons. This is historically accurate, since it wasn't until late in the Sengoku that daimyo began to group units by weapon type-and even then, a mounted horseman would have foot retainers running alongside them (no all-horse cavalry in Japanese warfare) and spearmen would have archers providing covering fire for them (as would arqubusiers). There weren't units of 'Kisho Ninja' or 'Naginata Warrior Monks' running around. Battles are fought and resolved automatically when opposing armies are in the same kori in a 'battle window'. Battle continues day by day until the morale of one side breaks or they're eliminated. If the attackers emerge victorious, they'll lay siege to the enemy castle, an undertaking which can literally take years for a well developed castle. While 'samurai cavalry' reign on the battlefield, 'Ashigaru infantry' is king of the siege, particularly if the player wishes to try a bloody direct assault on the castle. Moving armies from province to province is easy and takes place simultaneously with all other enemy movement, so you might find yourself chasing around an enemy force that changed positions before your movement was complete. Supply is covered in an abstract way by having a supply limit-units over an province's supply limit will experience attrition as the soldiers either starve to death or simply decide farming wasn't so bad after all and go home.

While the combat was raging, we didn't neglect the home front. Your character can only control five or so provinces himself (his holdings are called a demesne) effectively, which tends to cut down greatly on the micromanaging. You can assign your Master of Arms to improve the castle (with eight levels of improvement, including moats, towers, and gateways)-again, this uses realistic timeframes for completion so they won't be finished overnight. Castles improve a province's defense and also increase the maximum size for levy troops. Your towns can be upgraded by the Master of Ceremonies with buildings such as inns, toll booths, and a courthouse that will increase your tax revenue and also increase the maximum size of your retinue forces. The Master of the Guard can open up guild slots for special buildings (four per province) that confer a unique benefit, such as lowering revolt risk or increasing the combat ability of troops raised there. One religious building can also be constructed in each province. Revolts can and do happen, and we had to put down a couple (one by followers of Shinto and one by townspeople).

This brings up the most involved and important part of the game-your character and his interactions with everyone else. Your player character can be a clan leader, daimyo, or a simple kokujin-and the game experience changes greatly depending on which you choose. A clan leader (like the Uesugi) is primarily engaged with creating alliances with other clan leaders, rewarding his vassals, keeping the clan together, and conducting military campaigns. On the other hand, a kokujin (like the Chiba in our second tryout) will be more concerned with bringing himself to the attention of his lord and plotting with others to eventually form his own clan or usurp the one he finds himself in. Starting out as a kokujin can be challenging, since if your forces represent less than 5% of your clan's army, you will have no direct control over them-the clan leader will raise, deploy, and dismiss them. You can't declare war on another province, and just have to hope your leader makes wise decisions that won't see your domain get mashed. The daimyo experience falls somewhere in between. Characters have three main attributes-martial ability, diplomacy, and intrigue. These attributes can be bumped by the ratings your wives have. Yes, wives-even though a Japanese could only have one legal wife during this period, the game lets you have FOUR (whee!). Just think of the other three as concubines, which a samurai could have as many of as he could afford. Anyway, they'll add a portion of their ratings to those of your character and can really help make up for any deficiencies. They'll also defend a province's castle when its levies are on campaign. Attributes can be raised or lowered by traits-and they cover pretty much everything. They're gained at birth from the traits of your parents, during childhood (characters don't become adults until age 15), through experience, and through lifestyle choices. A maimed character experiences a loss in martial ability and health, while a lunatic will be disrespected by his vassals and unpredictable as an opponent. An ugly character will find it tougher to enjoy diplomatic success, while a good looking diplomat will not only make friends but also be a hit with the ladies (becoming the Brick McBurly of his day). Lepers, drunkards, hunchbacks, stutterers, geniuses, imbeciles, and scholars can also be ambitious, ruthless, paranoid, humble, envious, or speak with a lisp-with attributes adjusted accordingly. Good traits can be bad (an honest man will be hated by the deceitful) and bad ones good (a drunk will be loved by other drunks-we enjoy our sake!).

Every character in the game has this level of individuality and complexity. And it's here where the real fun lies. Creating good relationships with other characters is crucial to success. Your vassals will become angry if you try to keep all conquered provinces under your control-they need to be rewarded for their efforts with lands, titles, and cash. And you should-you can only construct one building at a time per province in your personal holdings, but they'll help develop the clan holdings faster by doing the same in theirs. Clan leaders in particular need to work hard to keep the good graces of their vassals-there are many pretenders waiting to wrest control of the clan, and your proclaimed heir needs as much support as possible to see to it that your dynasty continues. This is vital-your character will almost certainly die before the game is over (death becomes much more likely after age 40), so you better hope your heir has been well trained and enjoys the favor of the vassals. Remember what happened to the Oda clan after Nobunaga's death? It basically became the Toyotomi clan. Having a high diplomacy attribute (or sending your Master of Ceremonies around to gladhand vassals on your behalf) will go a long way towards keeping their opinion of you high. Your relations with other independent leaders also go a long way towards a successful conclusion-you often need them when plotting against a larger foe. Kokujin and daimyo will also find that being diplomatic works wonders in gaining supporters for your eventual promotion to clan leader (or establishment as a new clan).

Honor is also a major factor in the game-basically, it's 'currency' you earn by rewarding vassals, gifting allies, and supporting the emperor that can be 'spent' on 'morally questionable' acts such as declaring war (especially on a friendly clan), having a plot discovered, or using ninja. If your honor goes negative, it's game over-there's a seppuku button to commit suicide that will restore a bit of honor for your heir when yours gets very low, but we never felt the need to use it. In fact, it looks like we maxed our honor out at 100 as the Uesugi despite a few reckless attacks on friendly clans.

Religion wasn't really much of a factor in the early game, as few of the provinces constructed temples. Shinto confers a bonus to honor, Buddhism to reinforcement rate, and late-to-the-dance Christianity an increase in tax income and firearms. All religious buildings are called temples, but we're really talking Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples, and Christian churches here.

Ninja can be hired to do a daimyo's dirty work-assuming your Master of the Guard can find one. They'll do it all, from rescuing hostages to burning down enemy buildings (and of course, assassinating enemy characters). They cause a hit to your honor and gold supply, and if caught, can lead to a major drop in honor. We didn't find a need to use them early, but they would likely prove valuable later on where enemies have built up. You can also use your Master of the Guard to cause a vassal to become disloyal to his liege-and perhaps more ready to join up with you. Ronin (and their attached forces) can be recruited for your retinue forces, and they contain some of the best fighters in the game.

Graphics look great, with several different views and filters of the map of Japan that will supply you with important information at a click. The interfaces are intuitive and also loaded with information, and the same info can usually be accessed several ways. There were the usual learning curve screw-ups on our part-for example, we had a stud as our Master of Arms and rewarded him with a landed title-which removed him from the position and left us having to fill it with a chump.

We at the Samurai Archives will be running an interview with the game developers and designers in early September, and also running a basic 'Sengoku Trivia' quiz contest (focused on the Onin War) for downloadable copies of the game in conjunction with our friends at Paradox-and of course, a full review of the game. You can keep up with the game's progress in the SA's Japanese Entertainment forum (which has links to the Paradox Forums, Sengoku Facebook page, Twitter, etc). Until then, we'll be doing our best to see to it that the Chiba end up at the top of the rice pile instead of being squashed by the Tokugawa during the Odawara Campaign.

The History Of Japan-As Seen Through Paradox

2011-07-16T10:37:00.010-10:00

Paradox Interactive has long been known as a producer of highly detailed, accurate, and immersive historical simulations for home computers. Their upcoming effort "Sengoku" promises to debut as the be-all end-all of strategy games for Japan's Warring States period (the Sengoku Jidai, which began with the Onin War in 1467 and lasted for well over a hundred years). Slated for a September release, we'll be doing an interview with the game's developers and designers along with an in-depth review. Until then, we'd thought we'd spotlight two other recent Paradox sims that between them stretch from the days of the Muromachi Bakufu in 1399 to the early years of the 20th century. "Europa Universalis III: Divine Wind" introduces Japan and China to the popular Europa Universalis series, while "Pride of Nations" is an original effort by AGEOD that covers the world's great powers between 1850 and 1920.

The original Europa Universalis was introduced in 2000 and proved to be wildly popular among strategy gamers, with two later versions of the game and four expansion packs. Currently, you can play as any of over 300 historical nations controlling more than 1700 provinces and regions in games that can stretch from 1399-1820. And in DAILY turns. Yes, daily-and we're not even going to speculate if it's the Gregorian, Julian, or Lunar calendar. "Divine Wind" is the latest expansion pack, giving a new dimension to the previously generic nations of Japan and China. While Europa Universalis II had released a special version (entitled 'Asia Chapters') giving life to the Orient for Asian markets, this is the first time it has done so in the West. Since this is, after all, the Shogun-ki, we'll be focusing on gameplay as Japan.

The first thing you'll notice is that instead of the game using historical 'clans', it uses a system popular in Japanese gaming-having the nation controlled by the Genpei Toukitsu, the "Four Famous Clans" of Minamoto, Taira, Tachibana, and Fujiwara that almost all samurai supposedly can trace their roots to. Since the game covers roughly 400 years and the entire world, this was probably a good choice-with all the other nations, it simply wouldn't have been possible to keep track of all the tiny clans that emerged and were destroyed over the years. Just think of the 'Genpei Toukitsu' as representing the different clans that descended from them. While you're perfectly free to try anything you want anywhere in the world (we invaded Ming China on Turn One just to see if we could), this will cause disruption and unrest among your people, so it's best to concentrate on consolidating Japan under your leadership first. After all, only the Shogun can effectively carry on diplomatic relations with outside countries.

Juggling your economic resources to keep your people happy, developing your provinces with buildings, and recruiting military units are the basic building blocks of this type of game. However, you can also recruit leaders and other 'great men of history', each with their unique strengths and weaknesses. As the economy and technology develop, more and more choices and options open to players. Missions are given to players and can range from elaborate to simple-our first mission involved adding to the nation's culture by cultivating the art of tending to cherry blossoms. These missions sometimes require concurrent advances in different fields along with using up specialized personnel. Diplomacy allows players to do something as subtle as insulting a rival to provoke a war and leave your opponent looking like the bad guy. You can sponsor artists and writers to heighten the nation's culture. Keeping your military tradition high is crucial in insuring you will have effective generals and admirals to recruit. Battles are played out on a strategic level, and there are no 'real time' tactical level battles. Players can set priorities for their nations by adjusting sliders that determine how much of a country's resources will go into them. Each aspect of the game has repercussions for every other aspect, meaning that a wise player will not just look at the immediate effects of a decision but also how it will affect other factors over time.

The level of depth and options in Europa Universalis is staggering. You can recruit all sorts of agents-spies, admirals, conquistadors, diplomats, missionaries, all with different functions. Spies can perform all sorts of actions, ranging from counterfeiting another area's currency to undermining their guild structures and spreading false rumors. Unlike many games of this ilk, steamrolling province after province without provocation will result in bad things happening to the player. Unbridled aggression will drive up a player's infamy, a game device which fits in well with Japanese history-think of how Oda Nobunaga or Taira no Kiyomori tended to unite the ranks of their disorganized foes. Provoking opponents into rash attacks or coming into a war on the side of an ally who was 'unjustly attacked' provide much safer avenues for expansion.

One area in the game we noticed that comes up a bit short is 'localization'. Most game terms are European (understandable, since the game is centered on Europe, and having more than one set of commands would cause mass confusion). Likewise, many of the portraits the game uses are of Europeans and look completely out of place when matched up with a Japanese character. Many of the Japanese characters have clearly Chinese names. Overall, given the scale of the game, this a relatively minor annoyance.

Graphics are effective, relatively uncluttered, and there are multiple intuitive interfaces and filters that will tell you at the click of a button virtually any bit of information you'd ever want to know. Even though the game runs day-by-day over 400 years, it can be sped up greatly so the days fall away like a fluttering desk calendar. It can also be slowed down or paused during times of great activity where precision is paramount. And of course, playing as Japan just scratches the surface of what's on tap. Virtually any nation you can think of in any time period covered is available, offering a whole new gaming experience. Exploration, colonization, and developing new technologies become a big part of gameplay. While historical technology can be sped up by infusing it with development cash, it becomes much harder to do so the further it diverges from its historical appearance. Victory is determined largely by the goals players set for themselves-obviously, making France, England, or Russia the #1 nation in the world will be much easier than doing so with a small Germanic state-or even Japan. But often realizing a modest goal with a small faction is far tougher than meeting a large goal with a large nation. This makes for an almost endless variety of game experiences, as the goals for each nation are set by the players themselves and are easily changed from game to game. While there are no scenarios per se, there are bookmarked years that allow players to start the game in years of note-like the discovery of the new world, the League of Cambrai, the Thirty Years War, and the American and French Revolutions. There are ample mods for the game, which we'll delve into later in the review. Anyone interested in the game would likely be better off buying the "Europa Universalis III: Chronicles" pack which includes the original game and all the expansions, including Divine Wind. It's far more convenient than buying them separately.

We could go on and on giving details for Europa Universalis, but we still have "Pride of Nations" to cover. While similar in play to the Europa Universalis series, Pride of Nations is even more elaborate. While the main playable choices are the USA, Great Britain, Germany, France, Japan, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, you can actually play as virtually any country on the map (albeit without getting country specific 'events').

We started off as Japan again, and found that the game rewards players that proceed in an historical manner. Thus your early goal is to keep the Tokugawa Shogunate in business, putting down rebels and earning valuable Prestige Points that make your nation stronger. Early turns in our mini-campaign were spent building up Japan's basic economy as quickly as possible while also putting together a small fleet that could trade with Southeast Asia. Trying to speed up history and getting rid of the Tokugawa will result in a shattered country that could provide easy pickings for circling Europeans. The change in the political climate will come soon enough, and it's important to have a Japan that can economically take advantage of it-as well as one with enough prestige to count on the world stage.

The strongest aspect of the game is the military component (an aspect of play that AGEOD has excelled at), an armchair general's fantasy. You have all the building blocks you need to form any unit from a company to an army, and they can be combined in any way imaginable (although there is a minimum size for an independent unit). Supply units, engineers, infantry, artillery, cavalry, and more-they're all here. Leader units usually have a photo of the historical leader on their counters, and clicking on each unit will show an illustration of their uniforms and arms-again, specific to each country. Individual ships will have a photo of the historical ship on the counter wherever possible. Garrisons are raised automatically as needed (representing a sort of 'local militia'). Each unit is rated in a mind-boggling variety of categories-range, ammo, cohesion, aggressiveness, speed, discipline, and recon being a few. There are over FIVE HUNDRED special abilities a unit can possess. Combat is again played out on the strategic level-no tactical battles. Units can simply march to a location, or use rail and naval transport (if you have it).

Pride of Nations also emphasizes logistics and supply. Putting together a large force to send to East Africa is easy-keeping it alive once it's there is a whole other story. An army far from home that doesn't has access to plentiful ammo, food, and replacement parts is an army in a world of trouble. Whether it's horse drawn supply attached to units, rail, or naval transport, setting up your the supply network is all important. Attrition to units via climate, disease, and moving through rough terrain can deplete an elite unit in no time. Much like the real world, non-battlefield casualties account for just as much damage or more than those sustained in battle. And also much like the real world, the army with the best logistics will be the one in the best position to win. Players with the patience and ability to put together a strong supply network will find the going much easier. Other than the Takeda series of games, we can't recall a sim involving Japan where supply was such a crucial element.

Diplomacy is a bit abstract-there are the standard options for making alliances, defensive treaties, and right of access along with less common ones like making inter-country loans. Declaring war is somewhat difficult-it's not as easy as just saying so. Players will need a casus belli to do so, which often comes out of a 'crisis'. This is an event generated by the game and is determined by several factors-the state of diplomatic relations between counties, troops gathered on a border, or a disputed parcel of land being some of these. This triggers a crisis where the player has six turns to either go up by three dominance points or simply be ahead at the end. Dominance is established by press conferences, oratory, calling for a resolution or delay, or attempting to gain the support of third parties. Winning a crisis might garner enough prestige points to justify declaring war on an opponent.

The economic aspect of the game is excellent. It's largely based on manufacturing while keeping your population happy enough to prevent rioting. Manufacturing allows for lucrative international trade in conjunction with a merchant fleet. These are vital for procuring raw materials and items not found in your country (a real problem for resource-starved Japan) to keep those factories running and the cash rolling in. The level of detail is so layered that a player can actually set up a factory in a different country (pursuant to an agreement to do so) and ship finished goods back to the homeland. Another nice aspect is the distinction between private and government funds-government funds are raised from different sources and are used mainly for military funding, whereas private funds bankroll factories. Colonization is obviously a big help in supplying whatever resource a country might be lacking in, so most of the game's battles center on colony disputes rather than direct invasions of the mother country. In countries that have elections, you can also attempt to push one candidate over the other (although as always your people might have different ideas!). Social classes, education, religion, nationalism, and ethnicity all have a hand in determining the stability of the home front.

Graphics are a bit more whimsical than in Europa Universalis, with tiny animated ships traversing the globe. We found the old fashioned real-time clock in the upper right a nice reminder that we needed to keep track of things in the real world, since the game is very addictive. Another nice touch was the background music-over 100 selections that reprise some of the more memorable period tunes. The map has several different modes (military, economic, decision, colonial) and several filters can show the supply grid, key cities, and even the weather. Unlike a lot of games, turns are simultaneous-when you click end turn, all of your orders made during the turn are then executed at the same time that every other country's orders are executed. This makes things far more unpredictable, as enemy forces will often move before an attack can be carried out.

Even with all of the research that went into the game, there were still some things that made us groan in the set-up. Shimazu Nariakira was shown as Daimyo of Tosa on Shikoku, not in Kagoshima (Satsuma) on Kyushu. Likewise, one of the Tokugawa is shown as being in control of Hiroshima and Tokugawa Yoshinobu is installed as a leader in Edo in 1850 (when he's only 13 and should be in Mito). Thankfully, he hasn't been made Shogun yet.

The biggest complaint among players of the game centers around its length. The Grand Campaign runs for 1680 turns, and on top of that the computer AI takes a LONG time between turns to make its decisions and sort out/coordinate all the orders given by all the factions. Mods are on the way that will double the time periods each turn covers (halving the number of turns), and hopefully some sort of patch that will address the AI decision making lag. If you're really impatient, there are four short 'battle scenarios' (including the Russo-Japanese War) that remove the economic element and allow you to slug it out-with the Spanish-American War scenario also available as DLC.

Pride of Nations is an amazing game that provides players with an avalanche of information, options, and materials but somehow makes it all manageable. With the different situations facing each country, it also has unlimited replay value-which is extended even further by the AI giving each country different objective cities each playthrough. With a strong military aspect, an excellent economic and diplomatic component, and establishing trade and colonialism as an integral part of success, it takes its place at the top of the list in grand strategic games.

Paradox makes their strategy games mod-friendly, so there are tons of interesting player-created mods for Europa Universalis and there are probably just as many on the way for the recently released Pride of Nations. Mods range from simply setting up new scenarios to changing the map, introducing new artwork and unit appearances, and plugging in new scripts. The load screens for the games even allow you to choose any mod you've downloaded before booting up! The best place to find mods to download is at the Paradox Interactive Forums...not to mention the skilled and knowledgeable players that will be able to help you out in any situation you might get into. Both games also offer online multiplayer (both LAN and online), with up to 32 different players taking part in the same campaign for Europa Universalis.

Both of these games make for great learning tools for those who don't just want to read about why history played out as it did, but also to experience it. They're the descendants of the monster board wargames of the 1970's and 80's with the advantages of greater depth and zero recordkeeping. While you won't get the 'real time battles' of "Total War-Shogun 2", you will get a much greater sense of running a faction's diplomacy, economy, and military along with an unmatched level of control and detail. There are no quick fixes here-you have to be thinking out your strategy years in advance, just not a couple of turns. You won't find more involved, well-researched, and addictive history games than these. Did we mention how inexpensive they are? Europa Universalis Chronicles lately has been on sale at Gamersgate for under $10, a steal. Pride of Nations is less than 20 bucks. Considering the amount of well-spent time you can enjoy playing them, it's the cheapest entertainment option around.You can find "Europa Universalis III Chronicles" and "Pride of Nations" on Amazon.com, or (recommended) in downloadable form at venues such as Gamersgate or Steam.

A Duel With No Winner-Animeigo’s “Revenge”

2011-05-26T02:13:00.006-10:00

One would think a formal duel to settle a grudge between armed samurai would be pretty straightforward. Two men meet on the ‘field of honor’ in a fair fight with one emerging victorious-and the other dead. However, things don’t always work out this way in the world of chanbara. The particular duel we’ll be examining today features only a pile of corpses with no real winner in sight. A popular Western saying is that when you seek revenge, dig two graves-one for your opponent and one for your soul. Such is the tone of Imai Tadashi’s “Revenge” (Adauchi). This 1964 B/W release from Toei is now available on DVD from Animeigo and features Nakamura Kinnosuke as a character whose life is changed by the machinations of a system seemingly designed to crush the very people that best defend it.

It’s 1720’s Edo period Japan, a score of years after the raid of the 47 Ronin. While the exploits of the Ronin’s ‘feudal drive-by’ have become the stuff of legend, dueling and revenge still tend to be rare in the peaceful world of the Tokugawa. In some fiefs, duels have even been declared illegal by their ruling daimyo and it’s in one of these that Okuno Magodayu and Ezaki Shinpachi are about to have a fateful encounter. While glancing at a smudged weapon blade while passing by a group of the clan lancers, Magodayu makes an offhand remark that implies that they’ve grown lax in their duties. Shinpachi, a samurai who holds no official office and is just there to help out with the weapons, takes offence and subtly suggests that the lancers are in far better shape than the Okuno. Samurai pride being what it is, it isn’t long before Magodayu sends a letter to Shinpachi challenging him to combat at a remote river bed. Shinpachi’s brother Jubei (the head of the Ezaki family) finds the letter and rushes off to stop the illegal duel-but he’s too late. Shinpachi has killed Magodayu, and both clans are in a world of trouble.

Niwa Denbei, chancellor of the Okuno, suggests that perhaps both of the combatants were temporarily insane and that neither can be held responsible for their actions. While this ploy draws the displeasure of both Okuno Shume (who wants revenge on Shinpachi) and Shinpachi (who quite correctly is unhappy about being labeled as insane), it’s the only excuse that will allow both clans to survive. The fabrication is accepted by Chief Inspector Ogawa Kobei and Chief Councilor Katagai Tanomo, even though both realize that it’s untrue. Shinpachi is sent to a local temple to recover from his ‘insanity’, but it’s more along the lines of a ‘cooling-off’ period-it’s understood that with the passage of time he will be forgiven by the clan and allowed to return.

Meanwhile, Shume is fuming under the whispered rumors that he’s too fearful to take revenge for his family. He declares his intention to kill Shinpachi, stating that he’s not breaking the clan’s rules-it won’t be a duel but just the elimination of an insane killer. Shinpachi’s friend Koyama Samon rushes to the temple to warn Shinpachi. A terrified Shinpachi knows that not only is Shume a far better swordsman than he, but even if he wins, it will only make his situation worse. Despite pleas from both the temple Abbot and Samon to take his former betrothed Ritsu and flee the domain, it seems honor is more important to Shinpachi. He stays and in a stroke of incredible good luck manages to kill Shume.

Now the pressure is on both the Ezaki and the Okuno-they had been excused earlier, but the latest killing draws the ire of clan officials. Breaking with tradition, they sanction an official duel. To save his family, Shinpachi is asked to allow the last Okuno brother, his friend Tatsunosuke, to kill him. From here on, Shinpachi is exposed to every type of humiliation possible-even though he has never acted in a dishonorable manner throughout the entire incident. He’s threatened with imprisonment and starvation and pelted with rocks and vegetables by jeering peasants. Even when he resolves himself to purposely lose to Tatsunosuke as requested, the clan decides to change the rules. Will he swallow this final insult or will he strike back at his tormentors? Is there a way for him to emerge victorious?

As examined in our review of “Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai”, director Imai Tadashi was no fan of the samurai ethic and tradition. Rather, he saw the inherent hypocrisy of a theoretical code of conduct that took precedence over common sense and good judgment-not to mention a code that the rich and powerful could bypass at their leisure and warp to their advantage. In many ways, “Revenge” is like an extended vignette left out of the earlier “Bushido”, down to having the same star. The low status of Shinpachi sees him being continually made a scapegoat by the authorities even when he loyally agrees to follow their false decrees, hoping against hope that this will result in his family being unaffected and his own eventual reinstatement. Even his final agreement to let himself be killed at the hands of Tatsunosuke is ignored when it becomes inconvenient for the main clan. Imai also brings home the violence of swordfighting-there are no abstract, choreographed ballet-like moves resulting in bloodless deaths. Instead, there’s chaos, blood, pain, insanity, exhaustion-and ultimately futility. Nothing is resolved as a result. Watching Imai’s jidaigeki efforts always leaves one feeling a bit unclean and questioning the legacy of the samurai-they’re dark masterpieces that contrast greatly with many of the more colorful and traditional films of Japanese cinema in the 60’s. Don’t believe us? Just look at Kinnosuke’s face on the DVD cover. It says it all.

The film is told largely through flashbacks, also much as Imai’s earlier “Bushido” was. However, unlike “Bushido” (where the switch from the modern day to medieval Japan made it easy to spot a transition), “Revenge” takes place in a fairly short period of time. Some viewers find themselves having a hard time keeping track of when the present changes to the past and back again. One thing that will make it easier is that each transition will center around a particular character-when a character’s attire changes suddenly or they are instantly in a different location, it’s a good bet that the time frame has changed. Knowing the three Okuno brothers will help as well-if you see Magodayu, it’s the beginning, Shume is featured in the recent past, and Tatsunosuke largely figures in the present. While it can be somewhat jarring, it also helps add to the picture of random causality and lack of logic that Imai seems to be trying to paint.

We’ve sung the praises of the film’s star, Nakamura Kinnosuke, long and hard here on the Shogun-ki. While this performance isn’t quite up to the standard of his other roles in “Bushido”, “Miyamoto Musashi”, and “Secret of the Urn”, it’s still a cut above that which most any other actor would have been capable of. Some of this stems from the fact that Kinnosuke’s character of Shinpachi is somewhat sketchy. He’s not given much background and displays some puzzling, seemingly unmotivated attitude shifts during the course of the film. Kinnosuke does do an excellent job of portraying the character’s essential confusion and barely contained rage at the decisions made by others that destroy his life. No one does crazy quite like Kinnosuke, and his performance during the final duel more than makes up for whatever shortcomings that might have preceded it.

We found that the performance of the Abbot (never given a name) featured the best job of acting. He stands between the repressed, duty bound world of the samurai and that of the peasants who see the duel as nothing more than a spectacle to be enjoyed and profited from. He’s virtually the only character in the film that displays common sense and a good perspective on life. While he’s not above drinking and ‘bringing the love of Buddha’ to the local widows (in a role that would have been perfect for Brick McBurly), he’s tireless in his efforts to drag Shinpachi from the whirlpool dragging him down. Watching him trying to set Shinpachi and Ritsu on the road to freedom while good naturedly complaining about them the whole time gives the film most of its few moments of lightheartedness. The actor portraying Ezaki Jubei is also excellent, convincingly torn between his duty to preserve his family and his love for his brother Shinpachi. In the final analysis, a heartbroken Jubei manages to do both.

The film’s highpoint is of the course the extended formal duel between Shinpachi and Tatsunosuke at the end-the same duel that preparations are being made for at the beginning. Of course, it becomes obvious early on that Shinpachi will be fighting everyone BUT Tatsunosuke-the one man he had agreed to willingly give up his life to. This underhanded move sets up one of the greatest sword fights in chanbara history, perhaps only eclipsed by Raizo Ichikawa in “The Betrayal”. The Okuno’s choreographed fight strategy (strangely echoing what would be seen on the set of any chanbara film during rehearsals) is quickly laid to waste. While Shinpachi seems doomed to failure against the combined swordsmen of the clan, he doggedly fights on and even expands the focus of the fighting, terrifying his foes and scattering them in his wake. It’s unclear up until the final moment whether his unorthodox strategy will pay off.

Of note is the resume of “Revenge’s” screenwriter, Hashimoto Shinobu. He was a collaborator of Kurosawa Akira and penned many jidaigeki classics such as “Seven Samurai” and “Rashomon”. His skeptical views of warrior culture expressed in those classics lent itself well to both the subject matter of this film and Imai’s views and directorial style.

Animeigo’s extras are a bit on the light side this time around. There are a couple of program notes, not the elaborate ones seen in past releases, and they’re a bit off the mark. They call Shinpachi’s adopted unit ‘dragoons’ and give background for that type of troop. However, Japanese warfare did not have a history or tradition of firearms being used from horseback during the samurai era-they’d be better off being called ‘lancers’. There are short bios for star Kinnosuke, director Imai, and screenwriter Hashimoto. There are trailers for “Miyamoto Musashi” and “The Secret of the Urn”. Strangely, there isn’t a trailer for “Revenge”-one can only assume that it no longer exists. It’s also strange that the trailer for “Bushido” wasn’t included given Imai’s and Nakamura’s involvement. The image gallery does have more stills than is normally the case, around 40 including the film’s release posters. Menus are non-animated with no music. Both picture quality and sound are great and as always the translation and subtitles are the best in the business.

Regardless of whether Shinpachi emerges victorious, there are no winners in this duel. Everyone involved leaves with their hands-and honor-dirtied. The ones that survive, that is. Bushido is once again shown to be the tail that wags the samurai dog. While the duel has no victors, the film is another winner from Imai and Kinnosuke. You can get “Revenge” directly from Animeigo or from Amazon.

All images copyright and courtesy 1964 Toei Co Ltd.

The 47 Ronin: Feudal Drive-By Of Yore

2011-05-05T01:40:00.005-10:00

Andrew Rankin’s book “Seppuku” from Kondansha Publishing reflects the growing trend among serious scholars in the West (following the lead of the work Japanese scholars have been doing for quite a few years) to strip away the veneer of legends connected with the 47 Ronin and instead concentrate on what actually happened. As he puts it, “The Ako Incident is widely believed to embody moral conundrums that are quintessentially Japanese. It is perhaps more accurate to say that the whole affair now comprises the sum of three centuries of scholarly commentary and fictional embellishment, having absorbed a plethora of nuances and complexities that were tagged on post factum”. While ‘modern sammyrai’ still continue their campaigns of obfuscation and denial in support of the idealized image of the Ako Ronin, the picture that emerges seems to be that the Ronin were little different from a street gang carrying out a feudal drive-by. Let’s look at some of the more interesting sections of Rankin’s “The Ako Incident” in “Seppuku”.

Asano Naganori, who is usually portrayed as a noble, incorruptible, and perfect samurai, is shown as being “little more than a pleasure-seeking playboy who left administrative matters firmly in the hands of his advisors”. Similar to this is the description of the leader of the 47 Ronin, Asano’s chief councilor Oishi Yoshio/Kuranosuke. “Today an untouchable hero, he was not always known for brilliance. As a young administrator he was nicknamed ‘daytime lantern’ (hiru-andon); in other words, he was useless. He was not good with money, and needed assistance from senior retainers when handling anything financial. His first talent seems to have been for heavy drinking”. And what of the hapless Kira Yoshihisa? “The fact is that no concrete evidence exists (that Kira demanded bribes from Asano or taunted him)”. Rankin describes Asano’s botched assault on Kira, deriding it as “a lame effort” and notes that “Attacking a man twice his age, from the rear, and with the advantage of total surprise, Asano inflicted nothing more than two minor flesh wounds”. Further interesting points include that fact that Asano was escorted out of Edo Castle through an ‘impure’ exit reserved for corpses and criminals and was further shown contempt by having to commit seppuku in a garden rather than in the grand chamber appropriate to his status as a daimyo.

Rankin examines the aftermath of the assault where the bickering between different factions of the Ronin took center stage, with many of the group that had pledged to avenge themselves on Kira deserting as “their passion for vengeance waned”. At one point the Ronin were close to abandoning the attack on Kira and instead proposed substituting his son as the target of their wrath. Examining their motives, it’s shown that “the Ako men were not driven by personal devotion (to Asano). Some of them had never spoken a word to Lord Asano…Their loyalty was not to Asano personally, but to the warrior code….If the incident reveals anything timelessly Japanese, it is this heavy emphasis on the need to save face, a need defined by the status of the men as samurai, rather than on their moral obligations as individuals”. In other words, the Ako Ronin did it because they didn’t like being ‘dissed’. Oishi’s celebrated debauchery before the assault is shown for what it is: “When not plotting murderous revenge, Kuranosuke would head for the pleasure quarters and drown himself in drink. His behavior has been explained as a ruse to throw Kira’s spies off the scent. But Kuranosuke had a reputation as a drinker long before the Ako Incident, and there seems no reason to doubt that he was simply making the most of his last few months on earth”. Ako ronin Fuwa Kuzuemon, who won fame for striking down five servants during the raid, comes off as little more than a psychotic killer. He was banished from Ako by Asano for practicing tsuji-giri. What was tsuji-giri? “Random nighttime attacks on pedestrians”. Yes, Kuzuemon was in the habit of thrill-killing innocent civilians. Fuwa was also noted for being a “Kabuki-mono”, elements of the samurai class that dressed up in “gaudy kimonos” and engaged in “wild antics”. He requested permission to take part in the raid not because he had a special attachment to Asano, but basically because he was looking for a fight. While the Ronin lied to Shogunate inspectors and told them they had killed Kira with a single spear strike, a letter from Fuwa stated that “all the ronin present had stabbed and hacked Kira until he was dead. They sawed off his head…”.

Perhaps more surprising than any of this was the fact that, despite what almost everyone has accepted as fact over the years, the Ronin did NOT commit seppuku. Instead, each of them (save one, Hazama Roku) was beheaded in a mock seppuku ceremony. There are unambiguous contemporary accounts from each of the four houses that were responsible for holding the imprisoned ronin that this was the case. Rankin’s account finishes up by listing accounts from several contemporaries of the Ronin who criticized their actions, with well known scholars such as Sato Naokata lambasting them with “To give themselves up and wait for the Shogun’s ruling was nothing but a scheme to escape death and bask for a while in their own glory, before finding themselves new employment”. While all of this information might seem a bit harsh, Rankin’s account is fair, balanced, and backed up by documentation. He relates the disgrace of Kira as a result of his cowardice during the attack, the efficient way in which the Ronin planned and carried out the raid, and some touching stories involving several of the Ronin wracked by doubt and conflicting loyalties. This probably ranks as the best short account of the 47 Ronin incident available to date in English.

The only criticism we would level at this chapter would be that the author, while correctly stating the number of personnel in the Kira mansion at the time of the raid, has incorrectly ascribed them all the status of samurai guards. In fact, of the 45-50 personnel in Kira’s mansion, only three to five (depending on which account you choose to believe) were samurai guards with the rest being unarmed household staff (whom the Ronin evidently had no qualms about killing). For example, Rankin states “Guards at the front and rear gates were easily overpowered” when letters written by the ronin during their imprisonment establish that household servants were manning the front and rear gates (and both were asleep at that), the armed samurai having retired for the evening. Surviving bakufu records establish that all but perhaps five of the dead and wounded were servants. Simple math shows that Kira’s modest stipend could not have supported more than a handful of guards-contrary to how he is popularly depicted, he was not a wealthy man. The lack of guards at the Kira estate is further established by the imbalance of casualties-the Ronin suffered only one combat casualty (one wounded, with another Ronin being wounded after taking a pratfall) while Kira’s household suffered 16 dead and 21 wounded with the reminder fleeing the scene. The Ronin were not noted for their swordsmanship (something even their own museum in Ako freely admits), so such a lopsided tally can only be explained away by the fact that they largely were facing terrified unarmed servants. Popular support for the Ronin also seems to be overestimated by Rankin, as according to research done by Henry Smith (the West’s leading authority on the Ronin) Asano’s assault on Kira went largely unnoticed among both members of the samurai class as well as commoners, and was regarded as a minor incident by those who did comment on it. It wasn’t until the plays and novels based on the Ronin’s assault began to appear that public support for the Ronin started to manifest itself.

Still, one has to be encouraged by this development. While no doubt the upcoming Hollywood remake of the 47 Ronin legend with Keanu Reeves will ignite a whole new round of Ronin worship, it’s only a matter of time before the accepted view of the Ako Incident relegates it to the status of the feudal drive-by of yore.

The Death of Takeda Shingen - A Translation

2011-04-22T13:57:00.001-10:00

The Sengoku Daimyo Takeda Shingen's death has been tackled before on this blog, but this time I decided to translate a section from Takeda Shingen, a biography written in 1970 by Isogai Masayoshi that addresses the topic:

The Death of Takeda Shingen

Shingen was ill during the siege of Noda castle. The departure from Kofu prior to the siege was unusually slow because of this illness, and there was clearly worry about his health. After the fall of Noda castle, Shingen was unable to continue his military campaign, and withdrew to Nagashino, and it's said that Shingen went to Houraiji to recuperate, but when his condition didn't change, he packed up his army and returned to Kai.

Shingen's sickness was a lung illness, and symptoms began to worsen. A skilled physician recommended a course of medical treatments and potions, however, day by day it became clear that this was an incurable disease. Now deathly ill, Shingen retired to Shinano province, Ina district, Ikkaneki-Komanba (Modern day Nagano prefecture, Shimoina district, Achimura city, Komanba).

Near death, Shingen called his son Katsuyori to his bedside and said, "I have some small lands, and have invaded other districts and provinces, and for the most part have no regrets. However, the fact that I wasn't able to raise my flag in the imperial capital has been my most obsessive, if unrealistic, regret. If it becomes known that I have left this world, my enemies will take the opportunity to rise against you. Therefore, for the next three to four years, keep my passing a secret, and secure and fortify the defenses of the domain, build the military forces, and if you are ever in a position to take the capital, I will be satisfied." That was Shingen's final message. This was the 4th month, 12th day of the first year of Tensho (1573), and he was 53 years old. He had held the rank of Daizen Daibu Shinano no Kami, Jushiinoge, and his Buddhist name was Erinjidenkisangenkoutaikoji.

A hero of his generation, even Takeda Shingen couldn't defeat illness, and his ambitions disappeared like mountain mist.

Messin’ With The Shogun-Animeigo’s “The Secret of the Urn”

2011-04-14T01:47:00.006-10:00

It’s not often one can enjoy the pleasure of seeing the Tokugawa Shogun being taunted face to face by a crazy man who’s also just exposed his closest advisor as a crook AND broken up his formal chanoyu (tea ceremony). Tange Sazen not only does it with style from the top of a towering pagoda, but manages to survive the occasion intact. Well, relatively intact-he’s still missing an arm and eye, and there’s more trouble to come. The self-styled God of Death is still out there somewhere-and Fuji probably needs to put her clothes back on. It seems messin’ with the Shogun is only one of the many pleasures to be found in Animeigo’s new DVD release of Toei Studio’s 1966 “The Secret of the Urn”.

As brought up in Animeigo’s press release, the character of Tange Sazen is to Japan much like the characters Zorro and the Lone Ranger are to the West. Created by Fubo Hayashi (one among many pen names of Hasegawa Kaitarou), he appeared in all sorts of stories that have been adapted dozens of times on the big screen and Japanese television. Some have even featured a female version of the character. And of these, no story has been filmed more than the story of the ‘Million Ryo Pot’-the ‘Earless Monkey Urn’ (as Animeigo’s notes explain, this refers to a pot with broken handles-although the pot in this film obviously never had any). These films usually include Sazen’s ‘support group’-shady singing teacher Fuji, thief Yokichi, and Sazen’s unwanted kid sidekick, Chobiyasu.

Sazen wasn’t always a one eyed, one armed monster-when the film starts, we see him as Tange Samanosuke-a straight laced, clean cut retainer of the Nakamura fief in Oshu. Samanosuke’s been summoned by his superior to the scene of a brutal interrogation. A castle maid has admitted under torture that’s she’s a spy, and that she isn’t the only one. As the best swordsman in the clan, Samanosuke is ordered to kill the remaining enemy agent. This is to be the fateful assignment that transforms him into Tange Sazen-and it’s best experienced without further spoilers. All we’ll say is that Samanosuke should really be more careful about who his friends are…Time passes and we learn that the Shogun is having the Nikko Tosho-gu shrine of the Tokugawa’s ‘founding father’, Ieyasu, refurbished. This is an extremely expensive undertaking and would normally be assigned to a wealthy clan. However, his councilor Guraku advises him to have the Yagyu clan (yes, the same clan that screws over Ogami Itto in the “Lone Wolf and Cub” films) foot the bill. Guraku knows that the clan won’t be able to afford it through normal means and will have to resort to drawing upon their secret horde of a million ryo. The evil councilor intends to steal this for himself and then have the Yagyu disenfranchised by the Shogun for their failure, grabbing their position and status. When informed of their alleged ‘honor’, the Yagyu realize the only way to raise the money is to access the clan’s hidden treasury-which can only be found through the symbols located inside the ‘Earless Monkey Urn’. Yagyu Genzaburo transports the urn to Edo and is set upon by a large group of Guraku’s disguised ninja-not to mention two thieves, Fuji (played by Awaji Keiko) and Yokichi, who have learned about the plot. This results in a spirited game of ‘hot potato’ involving the urn and a running sword battle where none of the three parties is able to keep their hands on the relic-instead, it’s given to Chobiyasu (a young boy sleeping in a boat) by a dying Yagyu samurai with instructions to bring it to the Yagyu in Edo for a reward. A fifth party is introduced into the fray when Chobiyasu runs into an abandoned shack for cover. Pursuing ninja are cut down by the shack’s occupant-Tange Sazen. The contrary Sazen decides that if the urn is getting so much attention, it’s something he wants to hold on to-and when Fuji and Yokichi offer him a quick escape in a boat, he happily accepts.

Of course, Fuji and Yokichi waste no time in trying to get rid of Sazen and acquire the urn for themselves. While Fuji seduces Sazen, Yokichi attempts to spirit the urn away-but he’s foiled by his own clumsiness and stopped by the angry one-armed swordsman. When Fuji pulls a Western pistol on Sazen and demands the urn, he simply uses it as a shield and dares her to shoot-a stalemate, at least until Guraku’s ninja lurking outside decide to crash the party. There’s another running fight, this time across the rooftops, and when the last ninja is dispatched Sazen still has the urn. Seemingly having forgotten his fight with Fuji and Yokichi, he tells them they need a new hideout. Chobiyasu, hoping to get the urn back for himself, follows them to their new lodgings in an abandoned temple taken over by thieves. Here Sazen strikes up a strange friendship with the criminals, winning their trust and support when he gives them a cut of the proceeds when he sells a fake ‘Earless Monkey Urn’ to Guraku. He also settles into a relationship with Fuji, who finds herself attracted to him despite his scarred face and missing limb. However, when Hagino (Sazen’s love from his days as Samanosuke) turns up and recognizes him, Fuji and Sazen have a falling out and she decides to sell the real urn to Guraku. Guraku’s managed to have the Yagyu invited to a formal chanoyu given by the Shogun and ‘requests’ they bring the fabled Earless Monkey Urn (which was a gift given to them by Tokugawa Ieyasu). He knows that not being able to produce a clan treasure gifted to them by the first Tokugawa Shogun will be the final nail in their coffin. Taiken, Guraku’s ninja chief and the self-styled “God of Death”, has also disguised himself as Sazen and killed several Yagyu samurai-focusing the Yagyu’s recovery efforts away from Guraku.

At this point, Sazen is opposed by the forces of the Yagyu and Guraku as well as by Fuji, Yokichi, and Chobiyasu. Legendary Shogunate Magistrate Ooka Echizen has also organized a large force to oppose Sazen, having been warned by Guraku of a planned ‘assassination attempt’ on the Shogun during his tea ceremony (which is just an attempt to set up Sazen when he attempts to recover the urn). Sazen is seemingly readying himself by pounding down sake, distraught over both the appearance of his former love and his argument with Fuji. And the God of Death awaits his turn to cross swords with the one-armed monster. While it doesn’t look like there’s any way this situation can end well for the people that deserve it, it seems that Sazen has a few tricks left up his empty sleeve-not to mention Nakamura Kinnosuke’s badly camouflaged arm.

Star Nakamura Kinnosuke gives the film much of its appeal. Mirroring his award-winning performance in “Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai”, Kinnosuke in essence plays two characters in the film: the steadfast, loyal and dutiful Samanosuke and the wild, disrespectful and violent Tange Sazen. As was the case in “Bushido”, it’s hard to believe it’s the same actor. His Sazen is a real pleasure to watch, with outrageous mugging to the camera and an over-the-top vocal delivery that perfectly captures the essence of the character. Sazen’s insane grin and lifted eyebrow never fail to elicit a laugh as he prepares to go off on his enemies. Animeigo gets our thanks for bringing Kinnosuke to the attention of Western jidaigeki audiences, now taking his rightful place beside the other J-Stars better known here such as Mifune Toshiro, Nakadai Tatsuya, Wakayama Tomisaburo, and Katsu Shintaro. Check out Kinnosuke in other films like “Bushido”, “Musashi”, or in his turn as Ogami Itto in the TV version of “Lone Wolf and Cub” (where, in our opinion, he made a much better Ogami than Wakayama did in the film versions). For our money, Kinnosuke’s the premier figure in the jidaigeki tableau. While other stars could match his intensity, few displayed the type of range he routinely did.

Also interesting in a limited part is Amatsu Bin, whose stern look and commanding physical presence made him a heavy in quite a few films (most notoriously in yakuza films). Often playing a ninja or gangster, Bin is best known for portraying master ninja Fuma Kotaro in the TV series “The Samurai/Shintaro the Samurai”, a series that was to 1960’s Australia what the Batman TV series was to the United States. Here he plays Taiken (while we don’t know what kanji this uses, it can be translated as “Great Sword”), the leader of Guraku’s ninja and Sazen’s deadliest enemy. He styles himself “The God Of Death” (translated as “The Grim Reaper” by Animeigo) and provides the film with one of those Zatoichi/Sanjuro style ‘second endings’. Amatsu provides Sazen with a foe worthy of his sword.

It is somewhat odd seeing director Gosha Hideo directing what was for all intents and purposes a programmer. However, it came fairly early in his directing career and displays much of the humor and light touch seen in his first film, the excellent “Three Outlaw Samurai” (which one would hope Animeigo picks up at some point). Gosha’s films were to become increasingly darker and more serious from this point on with entries such as the two “Samurai Wolf” films, “Goyokin”, “Tenchu”, “The Wolves”, “Hunter In The Dark”, “Onimasa”, and “The Geisha”. Often featuring Tatsuya Nakadai as their star, these films form the basis of Gosha’s reputation in the West (although we tend to prefer his early work). Gosha allows Nakamura to chew the scenery and doesn’t meddle with the proven Tange Sazen formula. His directorial style enhances the film without trying to draw attention to itself-there are many instances of cleverly framed shots (such as shooting the actors through torn shoji screens) and framing (using pillars in the foreground to set Sazen and Fuji apart from the band of thieves). He’s particularly good at setting up running battles, with the four way battle for control of the urn mentioned earlier being the most exciting example. Little touches such as the camera lingering on a shelf stocked with urns lined up in order of descending size before panning down to Sazen (in this case symbolic of how the urn is beginning to lose its importance in Sazen’s mind at the moment) are throwaways to be discovered in repeat viewings.

Comparisons can be made between Sazen and the subject of our last review, Nemuri Kyoshiro from the “Sleepy Eyes of Death” series. While on the surface the black clad Kyoshiro’s cool and detached manner (with a sword style to match) is completely unlike the white clad Sazen’s boisterous personality and frenzied swordplay, underneath there are plenty of similarities. Both Sazen and Kyoshiro display contempt for authority and the two-faced world of the samurai where outrages are routinely excused by a hypocritical code of conduct. Common townsfolk (even those on the ‘wrong side’ of the law) and the rare samurai that does indeed embody the spirit of the warrior are the people these two find worthy of their help. The swordsmen also share some physical characteristics-spiky hair instead of the standard samurai chonmage along with wearing a close fitting simple robe, dispensing with a regular samurai’s hakama and kataginu. Let’s not forget that Ichikawa Raizo (Kyoshiro) also played a one-armed swordsman in "Samurai Vendetta".

As mentioned earlier, this is just one among many films that feature the story of Sazen and the Million Ryo Urn. Out of the eight or so versions we’ve seen (including a 1920’s silent version and an 80’s version featuring Nakadai in the starring role), this is probably our favorite. However, the 1935 version (“Tange Sazen and the Pot Worth One Million Ryo”) holds a special place in our hearts. Largely eschewing the tragic circumstances of Sazen’s situation and the whole ‘noble ronin’ shtick (which does get quite tiresome in jidaigeki at times-we like our ronin evil and the Bakufu good), star Okichi Denjuro portrays a grouchy but ultimately comedic Sazen, making for that rarity-a good samurai comedy that doesn’t rely on farce. Okichi was a huge star in Japan in that era-you might have seen him as Yoshitsune’s pal Benkei, bailing out his lord by faking his way through a recital of “The Subscription List” in Kurosawa Akira’s “The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail”. The actress playing Fuji in this film (Kiyozo) is an adorable sweetheart as well, and the film has a warm and humanistic feeling much like the recent film “Hana”. It’s sad that the film’s director, Yamanaka Sadao, fell into disfavor with the Japanese government and was shipped off to the Manchurian front where he died at the young age of 28.

Animeigo’s translation is again top notch with viewing options for every level of Japanese proficiency. The translation includes the complete cast and crew from the credits, something that’s rarely seen in releases from other companies. The print looks great with a good depth of color and nice clean sound. Extras include the film’s theatrical trailer, some short bios, and a few stills. The historical notes are interesting but only seem to cover the first third of the film. Since both the Yagyu family and Edo magistrate Ooka Echizen were taken from history (as well as being favored subjects of many other film series and television shows), it’s curious that they weren’t brought up in the notes. One interesting note points out a scene where you can clearly see Sazen’s “severed” arm alive and well. Another extrapolates the value of one million ryo via the going rate of cheap prostitutes!

This film is back-to-basics old-fashioned 60’s chanbara fun with little of the dark tone that Gosha’s later films veered into. Watching a cackling Sazen berate a befuddled Shogun while safely ensconced on top of a pagoda is the closest thing in a Japanese film to the ‘French taunter’ from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”. The entire film is laced with kinetic energy and a good-natured disrespect of authority. See for yourself how much fun messin’ with the Shogun is. “The Secret of the Urn” is another great vehicle for Nakamura Kinnosuke and a classic chanbara effort from Toei Studios. Pick up a copy of “The Secret of the Urn” at a discount direct from Animeigo HERE or from Amazon through the SA store.

All images copyright and courtesy 1966 Toei Co. Ltd

The AAS Conference - Podcast Series

2011-04-12T05:59:00.003-10:00

The Samurai Archives podcast, which has been in process for the last 14 months has finally stepped up and started broadcasting. Before we start the regular, standard format, we first put together the Samurai Archives Conference series, bringing you podcasts recorded live from the AAS/ICAS (The Association for Asian Studies and the International Convention of Asia Scholars) Conference held in Honolulu, Hawaii, from March 31st to April 3rd, 2011, as well as two follow up podcasts (one of which was released yesterday, and one which will be released next week). After that, the regular podcast will start production.

As far as the conference series goes, here is a rundown of what you'll find in the first 4 episodes of the new Samurai Archives podcast:

Episode 1 - AAS/ICAS Conference, Day 1 (4/3/11)

For the first podcast in the conference series, we commandeered a table in the exhibition hall and discussed the first few seminars that we had attended. The seminars included: Security Policy in Asia, Religion Goes Pop: Manga and Religion in Post-1995 Japan, and Monks of the Five Mountains and Shogunal Patronage of Zen in the Making of Muromachi Culture (which we were pleased to find was done in Japanese).

Episode 2 - AAS/ICAS Conference, Day 1, Part 2 (4/4/11)

For part 2 of our live day one coverage, we broke into an empty conference room and did a pirate podcast from there. The conference rooms in the Honolulu Convention Center have amazing acoustics, and this episode really benefited from that. Although we had janitors meander in and take their sweet, sweet time in emptying the garbage cans, we were able to go over a few more of the seminars we had attended, including Digital Archives and the Study of Japanese Foreign Relations, and Language Ideologies in Japan: Power and Identities.

Episode 3 - AAS/ICAS Conference Wrap-up (4/11/11)

This episode was recorded after the conference, and serves as part one of our two part conference wrap up. Joining the mix is Travis Seifman, author of the recently published article Seals of Red and Letters of Gold - Japanese Relations with Southeast Asia in the 17th Century, and also a conference attendee, and this time we cover a variety of conference topics, including:

Okinawa, Furusato, and the Creation of a Postwar Vision of Japaneseness, Thomas O’Leary
Celebrations of the Heart – Romantic Lit by Yuikawa Kei, Eileen B. Mikals-Adachi
Portraits of Modern Japanese Working Women – the Literature of Hayashi Mariko, Hiromi Tsuchiya Dollase
To Be Beautiful, Or Not To Be Beautiful, That Is The Question—Himeno Kaoruko’s Seikei Bijo, Satoko Kan
Who is Aiko? ~ The Absent ‘Father’ in Natsuo Kirino’s I’m Sorry, Mama., Kayo Takeuchi
“Food Imagery and Parody in 16th Century Japan: About the Shuhanron Emaki (The Illustrated Scroll of the Sake and Rice Debate)”, Claire-Akiko Brisset
“From Warming Stone to Memorial Stone: Rethinking the History of Japanese Tea Cuisine”, Eric C Rath
Wine and Eau-de-Cologne: From the Introduction of Western Food to the Birth of Yoshoku, Shoko Higashiyotsuyanagi

Episode 4 - AAS/ICAS Conference Wrap-up Part 2 (4/18/11)

Our last podcast in the conference series covers the seminar that forced me to pony up the sizable fee to attend the conference in the first place - Negotiating One's Place in Japan's Long Sixteenth Century, and to say it was worth the price of admission would be an understatement. Not only was it extremely interesting, but it was superbly done, and was probably the best organized and run seminar I had attended over the four day period. The presentations in this seminar were:

Local and Social Space Factors in Merchant Success in the Late 16th Century, Suzanne Gay
So Many Choices (And So Few Options) For Local Warriors, David Spafford
This Land is My Land: Masuda Motonaga and the Politics of Territorial Redistribution in Choshu Domain, David A. Eason
Warrior Conflicts With Their Daimyo in Early Seventeenth Century Japan, Luke S. Roberts

Here are some links you'll want to keep track of, please subscribe to the podcast, and make sure you rate it on Itunes too, to help us increase our exposure:

That covers the conference podcasts, and we'll have one more interview recorded last year, an interview with Travis Seifman about his paper mentioned above. After that, the standard podcast will kick off, with each episode covering a specific event or topic in Japanese history, and should be informative and fun, so look forward to it - we are.

Animeigo's Sleepy Eyes of Death Set 2: Good...Bad...He's The Guy With The Sword

2011-04-04T01:07:00.006-10:00

As a ronin dressed in black walks down a lonely road, a young woman approaches from the opposite direction. They pass each other without incident, but suddenly the ronin spins around. In one fluid motion he draws his sword, strikes the woman down, replaces the blade, and continues on his way as if nothing had happened. While this would normally mark him as the villain of the piece, this is the Sleepy Eyes of Death series. Here, the slaughter of an unarmed woman by protagonist Nemuri Kyoshiro (Ichikawa Raizo) is not only justified, but practically demanded by the audience. Good...bad...he's the guy with the sword (apologies to Bruce Campbell).

The Sleepy Eyes of Death Collector's Set Vol. 2, Animeigo's newest DVD collection of Nemuri Kyoshiro films (that's what we purists like to call 'em) collects films five through eight in the series:

5-"Sword of Fire"-Kyoshiro is reminded why he doesn't like involving himself in other people's problems when, after lending aid to a woman pursuing a vendetta (with the attendant promise of sexual favors afterwards), he becomes the focal point of a three way conspiracy involving pirates, the Todo samurai clan, and greedy merchant Narumi. When everyone seems to be a crook, how do you make sure they all end up getting what they deserve? Kyoshiro is particularly brutal towards women during the course of this film, as he sexually assaults virtually every one that has more than 10 seconds of screen time.

6-"Sword of Satan"-when Kyoshiro insults the pride of a fallen woman of status, he becomes guilt-ridden after finding out his harsh words drove her to suicide. Wearing her discarded Noh mask as a reminder, he sets out to help Tsurumatsu, a young boy she had been trying to protect. He's the illegitimate son of the Iwashiro daimyo and was spirited away from the clan when marked for death by supporters of the rightful heir. When the heir dies, however, the clan is desperate to reclaim him to avoid being disbanded by the Shogunate. One problem-the kid hates samurai and has no intention of returning. As if fighting an entire clan isn't bad enough, Kyoshiro also has to deal with yet another scheming woman. Orin is the sister of "Banzo The Flying Squirrel" (who attacked Kyoshiro and was killed). She misses no opportunity to attack, betray, and generally be a pain in Kyoshiro's ass.

7-"The Mask of the Princess"-returning from part four ("Sword of Seduction") is the disfigured Princess Kiku. Having been set up and humiliated by Kyoshiro in that film, she sets out to make him-and everyone he comes in contact with-regret ever having crossed her path. Kiku and her Bushu Hayate ninja group don't care how much collateral damage they rack up in trying to off Kyoshiro, and the body count is high. Did we mention there's a great Black Mass scene in this film that gives Kyoshiro another excuse to cut down a fallen Christian priest? While it has little to do with the rest of the film, it's still the high point. This one is particularly enjoyable for the excellent direction by Inoue Akira, but more on that later.

8-"Sword Of Villainy"-when the followers of an executed would-be reformer plan to burn down the city of Edo to retaliate, Kyoshiro finds himself in the uncomfortable position of siding with the Tokugawa Bakufu-a prospect usually anathema to him. This is somewhat of a throwback to the early 'Sleepy Eyes' films as Kyoshiro now has a flunky in hairdresser/burglar Tetsu. You really have to pay attention in this film, as the plots and alliances are complex and overlapping. There's also a subplot where Kyoshiro is a dead ringer for a deceased rebel leader, but curiously this thread seems to lead nowhere (other than to provide a reason for Kyoshiro to be drawn in).

Our favorite from the set is probably "The Mask of the Princess", primarily for all the excellent directorial touches given to the film by Inoue Akira. For what was basically a programmer, Inoue does some amazing things with scene composition and particularly framing. Whether actors are filmed through the torn paper panels of shoji screens or between the slats of wooden windows, it gives the viewer a sense of eavesdropping on the conversation and reinforcing their secretive nature. Inoue also puts Raizo off center in many shots, filling the viewer with expectations of having the empty side of the frame filled-but by what? The film is full of subtle touches like this and after watching it once for the action it wouldn't be a bad idea to watch it again for the artistry. The other directors (Misumi Kenji on "Sword of Fire" and "Sword of Villainy" with Yasuda Kimiyoshi on "Sword of Satan") also have their moments, such as Misumi's 'First Person Perspective' sword attack in "Sword of Villainy", putting the viewer directly in Raizo's sandals as he carves his way through a host of attackers.

Don't fret, though-these aren’t art films that will have you taking a nap ten minutes in. The swordplay, blood, sex, and depraved goings-on that everyone watches a Kyoshiro film for are on full display. From a Black Mass to a woman about to lose her face to acid, the Kyoshiro universe features things you won't see in your typical samurai film-including a nude female acrobat jumping off a bridge to escape her pursuers, just because she can. There are executions, suicides, horny Christian nuns, a princess with a passing resemblance to Two-Face, murder frame-ups, cross-dressing actors, body mutilations, ninja monks, whores with masks, serial killers, and sexual encounters interrupted by snakes. Talk about symbolic. As set out in the opening paragraph, Kyoshiro's not above ravaging any woman he meets, not to mention callously striking down an unarmed woman that he deems evil. And twice during these two films, rival swordsmen attempt to beat Kyoshiro at his own game-engaging him in duels where they are also using Kyoshiro's trademark Full Moon Cut. There’s rarely a dull moment in Kyoshiro’s life-and he thrives on the action. Having dispatched his foes in "Sword of Fire" and helped a couple of deserving souls escape, he warns the last of the conspirators not to spoil his good mood, or he’ll kill him.

Much has been written about Kyoshiro being 'nihilistic', uncaring, misogynistic, and inhuman. Well, it's hard to argue with any of that-and those are the points that have gained the character such a cult following. He's the counterpoint to the typical samurai film hero, who would never behave in a less than honorable fashion. However, as we brought up in our review of the first four films, Kyoshiro has a bit more depth than that-indeed, he continues to demonstrate that at heart he's a frustrated idealist. In "Sword of Fire", after finding out he’s been duped into helping out Nui (the woman supposedly pursuing a vendetta), he devotes his time to helping out the pirates that have been marked for death by Nui’s employer, the Todo clan. "Sword of Satan" shows his guilt over having taunted a woman into suicide, and lending his aid to her charge Tsurumatsu. Kyoshiro ransoms a young maid, Haru, from a whorehouse in "The Mask of the Princess" before she can be defiled and then sets her up with steady employment elsewhere-all with no benefit to himself. When she’s kidnapped, he sets out to rescue her and even throws down his sword to ensure her safety. Finally, "Sword of Villainy" sees him do the same for the female acrobat, not to mention trying to save the city of Edo from being burned down. Kyoshiro’s humanity is buried deep, but he’s not the totally cynical, hateful monster he likes to pass himself off as (which also points to a large dose of self-loathing over his status as the half-breed son of a fallen foreign Christian-a self loathing that displays itself in Kyoshiro slaying the fallen Western missionaries he meets throughout the series).

Extras for the films are a bit on the light side, although there are several different trailers on each disc from Animeigo's extensive 'samurai cinema' line. The original trailer for each film is included as well, and some of these contain alternate footage and different takes than the finished film (notably the trailer for "Sword of Fire"). There are a few short bios and also cultural and historical 'liner notes' for each film. They're a bit on the sparse side this time around (although taken as a whole, they add up to what's on a typical Animeigo release). The notes for "Sword of Villainy" are more numerous and give some excellent information that even we hadn't known about (such as the Kuzunoha fox story and related poem, along with the rebellion of Oshio (Chusai) Heihachiro). The extras are rounded out by image galleries with stills from each film. As everyone has come to expect, Animeigo's translations are the best in the business-easy to read with lots of options to tailor the film to any individual's level of Japanese language skills. Even better for hardcore chanbara hounds, they also translate the entire list of credits. The films were taken from the re-mastered Japanese originals, with nice depth of color and cleaned up sound. The packaging even includes little touches like a fold out image on the cardboard inner DVD holder (and also a shot of the famous 'strobing effect' for Kyoshiro's Full Moon Cut). It's a solidly produced complete package.

This is Animeigo's second volume of "Sleepy Eyes" films, and a fine successor to the first. They've now released eight of the Raizo "Nemuri Kyoshiro" films, with four more to go. The four remaining films are the most bizarre, violent, and original of the dozen that Raizo starred in (after Raizo's untimely death, the series went on to a thirteenth and fourteenth film with a different actor in the lead role-while these are usually reviled by fans, we find them to be pretty good-it's just that Raizo defined the role to such a degree that he made anyone who came after look bad). So if you'd like to see Trail of Traps, Hell Is A Woman, In The Spider's Lair, and Castle Menagerie, make sure to get this set first. Not only will it convince Animeigo to release the final four, but you'll add four more classics to your present collection. We can't recall the last time Animeigo released a lemon (probably Demon Spies)-they've been on a roll for quite a few years now. Things are a bit rough for DVD producers in the current economy, so picking up this set will help keep the string of classic chanbara films coming. You can get a copy directly from Animeigo HERE or from Amazon through the SA Store.

All images copyright and courtesy 1965-66 Kadokawa Pictures Inc

The AAS Conference - Religion Goes Pop

2011-04-03T15:57:00.000-10:00

I and others of the Samurai Archives community have been attending the Joint AAS-ICAS (The Association for Asian Studies and the International Convention of Asia Scholars) conference currently being held in Honolulu. I have been to many, many lectures over the past four days, and only really now have time to start sorting through my notes to report on what I've seen. So while the conference is still on, and after, I'll try to update everyone. LtDomer will also be posting here, so keep an eye out for posts from both of us over the next few days. I'll start off, well, at the start. After getting up at an ungodly hour and grabbing a bus to the convention center and meeting up with LtDomer, we went our seperate ways for the first seminar. I opted for Session 32: Religion Goes Pop: Manga and Religion in Post-1995 Japan to start things off, and it was an interesting subject. Not my regular area of interest, but it was interesting nonetheless.

It started off with Rebecca Suter of the University of Sydney presenting Creative Misreadings of Christianity in contemporary shojo manga. This lecture studied manga that take place during the late 16th and early 17th century, which is a timeframe that I am definitely interested in. The main subject was portrayals of Amakusa Shiro, both of Makai Tensho fame and as the leader of the Shimabara Rebellion, in shojo manga. Sort of a young, feminized girlie version of what most people know as the demonic resurrector of Miyamoto Musashi and other historical figures to take on Yagyu Jubei. Amakusa Shiro was apparently considered magical, and among other things could make doves appear from his hands - obviously a useful skill for an undead demon. The manga in particular that became the subject of this lecture was Amakusa 1637, about a girl who, during the Kobe earthquake of 1995, somehow slips back in time to the Shimabara rebellion, and gets mistaken for Amakusa Shiro (I must have missed what happened to the real Amakusa Shiro in the manga - was he squashed by the girl's farmhouse?) - and uses her skills with a katana, a cellphone and as a Christian to save the day and prevent the violence of the rebellion. All in all a whacked out concept, but fitting for manga I guess. Suter's thesis (and I'm going purely by memory and notes here) is that these manga show a few things - 1. that the Japanese sort of idealize a strange unrealistic hybridized pseudo-American version of reality, and 2. that the Japanese have no real concept of Christianity as a religion, but maybe more as a kewl foreign thingy (case in point, "exotic" Japanese weddings done in a church with gaijin priests). All in all an interesting lecture.

The second lecture was done by Mark MacWilliams, who spoke on Healing Humor—Nakamura Hikaru’s Seinto oniisan (Saint Youngmen). Another interesting subject, this one tackled the use of Jesus and the Buddha in a lighthearted, non-religious capacity in manga. I had never heard of this manga, but apparently Jesus and the Buddha are roomates in a suburb of Tokyo, and just hang out doing regular stuff, and good-natured hijinx ensues (did I just hear someone say WTF?). Now, these manga apparently don't actually have any religious over or undertones, but still portray the sort of morality that Jesus or the Buddha stands for, and people read this manga, and feel better about themselves and life. I guess the point here is that spiritual healing can be done via these religious figures outside of any actual religious context - in other words, watching Jesus and the Buddha navigate day to day life like any other regular Joe (Taro?) can be an inspirational thing.

Moving along to the third lecture done by Erica Baffelli, University of Otago, New Zealand, it was titled New Religions in/and manga, and this one was fascinating. It detailed the use of manga to help explain and introduce "new religions" (read: cults). Among others, Aum Shinrikyo (I believe they also went by "The Light of Truth) used these manga, and I was treated to images of the stringy bearded, greasy haired cult leader Asahara Shoko on the cover of these manga. I was in Japan during the Sarin gas attacks, and remember well the news images of this chubby blind guy who looked homeless bouncing up and down trying to fly, and to see him on a manga is pretty humorous (The only humor to be found in an otherwise bad situation). My first immediate thought was that I bet you could pull in a ton for these Asahara Shoko manga on eBay- my second thought was to find myself a copy, but sadly, no cult manga on eBay today. That aside, there was also mention of an Aum Shinrikyo cartoon that was comedically remixed with the Evangelion theme song, which I was able to find on YouTube, but admittedly I enjoyed the Doraemon version way more.

And, lastly, a very interesting lecture by John A. Shultz of Kansai Gaidai University titled Squiggly Seichi: Pilgrimage Rendered in Manga and Manga Pilgrimage, (I apparently missed what a squiggly seichi is) which essentially compared religious pilgrimage in Japan (typified by the pilgrimage to the 88 temples of Shikoku originally undertaken by Kobo Daishi), to the pilgrimages that crazy otaku manga fans undertake to visit places that show up in their favorite manga. Basically, otaku spend a lot of time pinpointing real-world locations they find in manga, then they dress up as the character depicted in said manga, and proceed to make a pilgrimage to all of the places that they were able to find in the manga that have real-world counterparts. I guess they then take pics flashing the peace sign, and go home. This is apparently similar to people who dress as Kobo Daishi and travel the 88 temples (not sure if they dress "as" Kobo Daishi, or just wear religious garb. And presumably some do neither, but anyway). All in all, for this first seminar, I essentially just needed something to fill space since nothing particularly jumped out at me, and it was worth it.