Lucia Robson has written acclaimed novels about feisty women of
the Old West, (including Native American women) winning both the Owen Wister
& Spur awards. In 2011 True West Magazine named her the ‘Best
Living Fiction Writer.’ But she
tells me her favourite of her own novels is definitely an eastern! She found THE TOKAIDO ROAD, set in Japan in 1702,
the most fun to research.
After the execution of her father, the young and beautiful
Lady Asano is in grave danger from the powerful Lord Kira. In order to save
herself Asano must find Oishi, the leader of the fighting men of her clan. Disguising
herself as a traveling priest, and calling herself Cat, she sets off along the
fabled Tokaido Road. Her only tools are her quick wits, her samurai training,
and her deadly, six foot-long naginata. And she will need them all, for a ronin
has been hired to pursue her . . .
A samurai
woman
Briefly (and I'm taking most of my information from Wikipedia) the SAMURAI were the military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early modern Japan. A translation of samurai is 'those who serve in close attendance to the nobility.' An early reference to
the word samurai appears in an anthology of poems completed in the
first part of the 10th century.
The samurai were usually associated with a clan and
their lord,
and were trained as officers in military
tactics and grand
strategy. They dominated the Japanese military from the late 12th
Century until 1873. In that year Emperor Meiji abolished
their right to be the only armed force in Japan, in favour of a more
modern, western-style, conscripted army. In the late 19th century the samurai
class was abolished. The last samurai conflict was arguably in 1877, during
the Satsuma Rebellion in the Battle of Shiroyama.
Maintaining the household was the main duty of women
of the samurai class. This was especially crucial during early feudal Japan,
when warrior husbands were often traveling abroad or engaged in clan battles.
The wife, or okugatasama (‘one who remains in the home’), was
left to manage all household affairs, care for the children, and perhaps even
defend the home forcibly. For this reason, many women of the samurai class were
trained in the use of a weapon called a NAGINATA.
A naginata is
a wooden or metal pole with a curved single-edged blade on the end, similar to the
glaive
of medieval Europe. The 30 cm to 60 cm long blade is forged in
the same manner as traditional Japanese
swords. When not in use the blade would be covered with a wooden sheath.
A woman wields a Naginata
Though many samurai women engaged in battle alongside the men, most female warriors (Onna-bugeisha)
were not formal samurai. They usually were not allowed to wear two swords.
Ronin (meaning ‘drifter’ or ‘wanderer’) was a samurai without lord or master. He became masterless after the death of his master, or after the loss of his master's favour or privilege.
Historical dramas featuring samurai have long been
a staple of Japanese films and television. Arguably the peak of this cycle is
THE SEVEN SAMURAI, Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 masterpiece, one of my top 10
favourite films and arguably the greatest action movie ever made. It was remade
into the western THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN.
Toshiro Mifune in ‘THE SEVEN SAMURAI’
Another Kurosawa samurai drama, YOJIMBO was transformed
into A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS. This was actually a circular
process as Kurosawa was hugely influenced by the westerns of John Ford. When
these two legendary film directors met, Ford allegedly told Kurosawa ‘You
really like rain’ to which Kurosawa replied ‘You really like dust.’
Other cross-overs between samurai movies and
westerns include RED SUN where a samurai warrior finds himself fighting Comanches
and outlaws in the wilds of the west
Toshiro Mifune (again) in ‘RED SUN’
and THE LAST SAMURAI. Here Tom Cruise plays an
1870s U.S. Cavalry officer who goes from fighting Native Americans to aiding
the samurai in Japan during the Satsuma
Rebellion.
Tom Cruise in action in ‘THE LAST SAMURAI’
I know Lucia Robson will appreciate this: another
of Kurosawa’s samurai films THE HIDDEN FORTRESS is held to be a direct
influence on STAR WARS.
TOKAIDO ROAD reviews:
‘Best
single fiction book I have read about feudal Japan’
‘Beautifully-written
story’
‘A
strong, realistic heroine’
‘A jewel
of a book’
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