The Last Samurai

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

“The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life” (Zwick). These are the words of Katsumoto, an important samurai warrior. The movie The Last Samurai directed by Edward Zwick is about an American War Captain named Nathan Algren who is hired to train, lead and modernize a group of Japanese soldiers to defeat a rebellion of the country's remaining Samurai in 1876. Algren is captured by the Samurai and soon becomes part of the village he is being held hostage in. There, Algren learns from the Samurai and comes to respect them. He finds that his true warrior is becoming unleashed as he trains to become a Samurai with the very people we once called his

Hey, Have you ever learned about the Samurai and Knights?? Well they had a few big similarities but lots of differences. Also in that era Samurai and Knights they had to be very loyal to their lord. I have a question for you. Were the similarities greater than the differences? No I don't think the similarities are greater than the differences between the Samurai and Knights. So no I think there are more differences than similarities. I’m going to be talking about the Samurai [Japanese Warrior] and Knights [European Warrior] is there Social position, Training and Armor, and Life and death.

The Samurai’s Tale is about a young boy named Taro, who had became the hero of the story. The main characters in the story was Lord Akiyama, Lord Takeda Shingen, and Togan. This story took place in Japan around the 16th century. The story began with Taro, Murakami Harutomo, arguing with his mother about what she had been telling him to wear for an event that was going to happen without him knowing about. Later that day Taro saw that soldiers came attacking his house, his mother leaving him with Yone in a chest trying to keep them safe in a storehouse that had laid behind the house. A soldier then found them both and took them out of the chest, then as they walked out of the store hold, he found his mother on the ground dead. A plot twist that

Secrets fill the garden. In Gail Tsukiyama’s novel “The Samurai’s Garden”, she uses metaphors to show the audience the garden and its’ curator in a mysterious light. Tsukiyama’s character Stephen gazes upon Matsu’s garden with wonder and amazement. He compares it to another world, “The garden is a world filled with secrets… Matsu’s garden whispers at you, never shouts; it leads you down a path hoping for more, as if everything is seen, yet hidden” (Samurai 31). Tsukiyama creates another world within the fences of the garden. She integrates the secrets of its’ caretaker into the aura of the garden. The metaphor to another world impacts the reader by allowing the reader to see the mystery and beauty that shrouds it. The cloak of beauty shows

I believe Murakami is one of the best leaders in The Samurai’s Tale when compared to Wada Kansuke, and Lord Akiyama due to his caring, trustworthy, and loyal ways. The reason why I think Murakami is better because he shows many skills and he likes to go all out and doesn’t hesitate much on things he thinks he should do or not to do. Lord Akiyama is a good leader because he gives good orders and people listen to them. Murakami and Wada Kansuke are mostly the same because of their personality and because they have honor, and they are reliable. Lord Akiyama is merciful and he is kind to other people and he favorites Murakami the most. Wada Kansuke is a wise, kind, and smart leader, but he is not as caring as Murakami. Murakami always listens to the commands he is given. The comparison between the three characters are very similar and their personalities are too.

The last Samurai was a movie directed by Tom Cruise and Edward Zwick, it was filmed in 2003, and was based on the Satsuma Rebellion. The Last Samurai does portray Japanese culture of the Meiji Era correctly in some ways as it was the men who would go off to war, and mainly women who would stay home and farm. But parts were incorrect. The Last Samurai does lack historical accuracy as it shows us Japan with more of an East-West culture. In real life, the man named Nathan Algren was actually a man called Jules Brunet, who was a French man who went to Japan to fight, but was captured. At the time of these events, Japan was still modernising; so these aspects of the film may vary to the truth.

Lord Takeda Shingen- The Lord of Kai, a ruthless warlord whose ambition is to rule all of Japan.

Who would win? A samurai has all the tools necessary for defeating a knight. A knight has similar tools but ultimately will be defeated. A samurai would arise victorious.

Who would come out victorious in a one-on-one battle between two of the fiercest warriors in history, a knight or a samurai? Feudalism began in Japan and Europe when landowners gave land to warriors in order for protection. The knight or samurai would then let peasants live on their land. The peasant would pay for it by giving them a portion of their crops. In a one-on-one battle, a samurai would win because of their way of living, training, and armor/weapons.

Nolan creates an atmosphere where one scene will move steadily to the next, building anticipation until all hell breaks loose. Nolan has really done his research with this film as he explores a deeper meaning in good vs. evil. It makes the film seem so real life unlike most fantasy superhero movie. For some reason, the viewer can actually imagine this happening in real life. The lights and effects are very promising.

Twilight Samurai is a movie that revolves around the live of a samurai, years before the Meiji Restoration. The main issues that the movie looked at include stereotype of samurais, genders and social class differences. Unlike many typical samurai-themed movies which involve fighting, woman and pride, the director of Twilight Samurai focused on the everyday life and difficulties faced by the main protagonist, Iguchi Seibei.

Cinematographers and art directors play a very important and creative role in film production. They work closely with the director and give a film its unique visual look and identity. The art director, David Lazan and cinematographer, Mauro Fiore, shot the film almost entirely in sequence, following the clock from the crack of dawn to a very dark night of reckoning. Compressing intense action and emotion into a brief time frame became one of their key challenges. They had to make sure the film felt like it was one single day unfolding which became the single biggest challenge during the production.

Yuzan Daidoji, Oscar Ratti, and Thomas Cleary. The Code of the Samurai. Boston: Tuttle, 1999. 10-44.

The director choose this specific subjects to demonstrate the Japanese culture and hierarchy grading system. The Seven Samurai represents the spirit and wisdom, loyal, optimistic, martial arts. The film