jubaji

So, in 1543 a Chinese ship gets blown off course and rolls up on an island near Kagoshima. The Portuguese who happened to be on board brought the first firearms to Japan.

In short order the Samurai had adopted them and began developing new battle strategies based on this new technology.

Of course in lots of bad movies (like the unwatchable 'Last Samurai' with rat-face himself) the Samurai are portrayed as - for some unfathomable reason - rejecting an effective new weapon. This notion seems to capture the popular imagination to a significant degree.


Why?

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aseepish

Maybe watch GOOD movies like Kagemusha, or Ran. It's been ages since I've seen either, but the scenes I remember most vividly are gun-related: The sniper in Kagemusha, and the teppou-equipped squad annihilating an opposing army in Ran.

I saw The Last Samurai when I was in Tokyo. From the number of laughs from the Japanese audience, you'd have thought you were watching a comedy. When "rat-face" started speaking Japanese, people were rolling in the aisles.

Perhaps the symbolism of the katana itself?

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