Samurai's Tale Essay

At his arrival at Mishima, he claims being a retainer in the service of Harima-no-kami of Mito in order to intimidate the guards. According to the book, Mito was one of the three highest-ranking collateral houses of the tokugawa family.

The Samurai’s Tale by Erik Christian Haugaard is about a boy named Taro, the protagonist in the story. The major characters in the story are Taro, Yoshitoki, Lord Takeda Katsuyori, Lord Akiyama Nobutomo, and Togan. The setting of the story is in Japan, in around the 16th century. In the beginning of the story he was presented as a gift by the great Lord Takeda Shingen to Lord Akiyama after his parents had been killed. By using his wits and suppressing his fierce pride, Taro slowly escalates the ranks of his lord’s household until he achieves his greatest goal—becoming a samurai like his father and Lord Akiyama, whom he has come to admire. The life of a samurai is not so easy, Taro finds himself sacrificing opportunities of love and friendship

These clans would then unite themselves with other clans to form alliances that would unite with higher lords in order to accumulate even greater power. With the growing power, many clans were able to gain as much, or even more, control over the nations as even the government. Eventually these clans began to clash, and the strongest two, the Taira and Minamoto, broke out into war for control, known as the Gempei war, which also served as the official point where samurai nobles became more influential than the emperor (Doc F). The Minamotos won the battle, and the chief was rewarded by the emperor with the title “Shogun.”

In 1159, Kiyomori of the Taira clan was victorious over the Minamoto clan. Kiyomori murdered all the adults of the Monamoto clan and forced the children into exile. The emperor rewarded Kiyomori victory by giving him an advisor position in the government. This event was significant because Kiyomori was the first warrior in Japan’s government. Like the Fujiwara family, Kiyomori desired a royal bloodline within the Taira clan. So the Taira clan consorted with the imperial family in efforts to secure an imperial bloodline. Later, Kiyomori obtain a higher government position and more importantly a grandson was born and is heir to the throne. Feeling cheated an imperial prince sought the exiled Minamoto to overthrow the Taria clan. In 1180, Yoritomo of the Minamoto clan formed an army and battled with Taira clan that is known as the Genpei War. Eventually, Kiyomori died and the Taria clan shortly declined after him. During these battles warriors ran amok pillaging the Japan’s cuntryside. To end the chaos and violence the imperial turned to Yoritomo. Yoritomo in return raise an army of samurais and took complete control of the government and transformed it into a military government. The Kamakura government consisted of the emperor, shogun, and the house men. The emperor served merely as a figurehead, he little to no control of his government. The shogun had

Cameron, C. M. (2002). American samurai: myth, and imagination in the conduct of battle in the First Marine Division, 1941-1951. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

By the 900’s, the Japanese government began losing control over rural areas due to its weak ruler and the samurai warrior class stepped in to take control. This was due to a civil war called the “Hogen Rebellion” in 1156. This rebellion was due to conflicts regarding Imperial Japanese succession and unexpectedly laid the groundwork for the samurai clans to gain dominance. With both “would-be emperors” losing the Hogen Rebellion, the imperial government of Japan lost all of its remaining power. This led to the Heiji Rebellion in 1160 which was fought between two samurai clans, the Minamoto and Taira. With the victory of the Taira clan, the first samurai-led government (Shogunate) was formed. This type of government was controlled by the samurai clans, and the Emperor of Japan was only used as a figurehead to the government.

The story “Lazy Taro” is a success story reflecting Gekokujo which is the social condition of the middle age of Japan, especially the end of Muromachi era to Warring period. Gekokujo menas “overcoming the higher by the lower.” Several Japanese historical persons at this period started their lives in the lower class as a peasant, and became a powerful ruler, such as Hideyoshi Toyotomi. The story of Lazy Taro exactly exemplifies the success of Gekokujo.

The Minamotos won, and the emperor made Minamoto Yoritomo shogun, the head of the military. Yoritomo however wanted more and took all power away from the emperor and made himself dictator. At this time the samurai gained power, through land given to them by the new shogun. Their rise in status was beginning.

In feudal Japan, a young man named Oda Hachirou was once famed samurai and Japan’s hero under Lord Shin Nijimura who sought to bring peace to the nation. Born on May 23, 1055, the young warrior came from a small family of three, his parents, and a younger sister. He traveled across the country to learn Bushido, proven to be worthy after his father, Tatsuo Hachirou. Until recently, the Japanese town of Seika became plagued with disease and sickness, eventually attacked by vengeful spirits and demons; rumors were rogue samurais held responsible for this tragedy, including the deaths of Lord Nijimura and his family. No men and women know where these hostile entities came from, though Oda had soon learned that the evildoer was a woman, someone

Based on the legend of Watanabe no Tsuna, an aspired hero named Oda Hachirou becomes a samurai to follow his own morals and integrity, serving to protect his lordship and her ladyship, and bring honor to his family and country. After his family and dearest companions were killed by his mortal enemies, onryō and yōkai, Oda takes upon his own convictions and quest to find answers, seeking to bring justice to all of Japan by eliminating the source of evil. Knowing that it will be a long quest to reprimand these threats, Oda depends on his ego and courage to take on the enemy. While his journey begins at Rashōmon, Oda encountered an infamous oni, Ibaraki dōji, clutching an unconscious woman. When Oda insists the creature to stand down in which

Lord Shigeru tried to get Takeo educated before he was adopted. One night Takeo woke up because he heard an assassin come into his house. He and Shigeru fight off the assassin. A man named Kenji arrives, and Takeo thinks he is dangerous and suspicious. He waits outside the gate to see sees if Shigeru will let him inside. However, the man slips in anyway. Kenji is also of the Tribe, a group of five ancient families who preserve the magic ways of old. Kenji determines that Takeo’s father was also of the Tribe, and when he lodged among the Hidden years before, decided to renounce the Tribe’s culture of murder and assassination. He was killed by a Tribesman not long after, and unbeknownst to the Tribe, left a son, Takeo.Kenji begins to tutor Takeo

His tragic downfall truly begins when his is sent away because of an accidental murder of a boy. Okonkwo and his family are exiled from the tribe for seven years and Okonkwo is stripped of the fruits of his hard work. While he is away the white missionaries move into the village. They preach against the culture and its violent ways, causing Okonkwo to become saturated with rage. Seven years later, Okonkwo is able to return. He plans to reestablish himself and his position with the help of his family. However, Umofia is not as it once was. The white men have moved in and dismantled the tribe with their laws and government. Okonkwo wishes to fight, but the clan does not agree with his suggestion. After realizing the fate of the village, Okonkwo chooses to take his life. He would rather die than watch everything he had worked for fall apart because of weak people. His tragic flaw, a fear of weakness, is so strong it destroyed him.

At this point it is revealed that, during the Bakumatsu, Kenshin had been married to a woman called Yukishiro Tomoe. She had initially wanted to avenge the death of her fiancé whom Kenshin had killed, but instead both fell in love and got married. It is then discovered that Tomoe was part of a group of assassins that wanted to kill Kenshin, and Tomoe is betrayed by them and captured to use as bait. Kenshin rushes in to rescue her, killing both his assailant and accidentally Tomoe, who jumps in at the last minute to save Kenshin from a fatal attack. Wanting to take revenge for the death of his sister, Enishi kidnaps Kaoru and leaves behind a tortured figure bearing a stunning resemblance of Kaoru for Kenshin to find and momentarily grieve over. Once discovering that Kaoru is alive, Kenshin and his friends set out to rescue her. A battle between Kenshin and Enishi follows and when Kenshin wins, he and Kaoru return home. Five years later, Kenshin has married Kaoru and has a son named Himura

Hideyoshi was an influential Japanese influential feudal ruler, daimyo, throughout the 16th century. Hideyoshi was known to be a daimyō, warrior, general, samurai, and politician of the Sengoku period, and was especially known to have started a new age of in Japanese culture. Hideyoshi was a highlight of the Japanese feudal era which made choosing an influential person a worthwhile task. I have personal history with the level of influence his prestige has over history. His name was once referenced in a conversation between my second generation Japanese American friend. I was interested in what she told me about the history of her family back in Japan. I will be using this paper as a conduit to help start my understanding a small portion of Japan history through researching the famous Hideyoshi and his celebrated achievements

During the Meiji Era in Tokyo, Ocho witnesses her father's death as a child, a spectacle that stigmatizes her to the point that revenge, becomes eventually her sole purpose. Twenty years after the incident, Ocho has become an adept gambler, thief and swordmaster, abilities she is intent on using to exact revenge. However, the Yakuza is after her, and a friend's dying request and a meeting with a foreign spy complicate her situation even more.