iwatekenshi
24th July 2003, 11:28 AM
I just saw a good movie recently that came out this past January and is already on DVD here in Japan but maybe not in foreign countries yet. It's called MIBUGISHIDEN. The English title is When The Last Sword is Drawn. The main character is a poor country samurai from my area in Iwate who fights for the Shinsengumi. He was a real person who was supposedly a great kenjutsu teacher who left the nanbu clan, now Iwate Prefecture, to fight for the last shogun just before the Meiji Period. The movie gives you a good feel for what it was like here in Tohoku during some terrible famine periods.
A lot of people don't know but, everyone was starving here including the samurai caste. People had to leave their feudal lands in order to have enough food for their families to eat. Many parents even commited suicide in order to save their children from starvation. An extra mouth to feed meant less for everyone else.
This story is one example of self-sacrifice. However, once you left your area you could not come back.
BTW where this character is originally from kendo is still very strong. The movie really had a big following here in Japan and especially in Iwate. Go see it when you have a chance.
So far this is the best English website that I can find that explains the movie in short detail.
http://www.miff.ru/25/eng/moscow-xxv/films/?film=286&program=35
A lot of people don't know but, everyone was starving here including the samurai caste. People had to leave their feudal lands in order to have enough food for their families to eat. Many parents even commited suicide in order to save their children from starvation. An extra mouth to feed meant less for everyone else.
This story is one example of self-sacrifice. However, once you left your area you could not come back.
BTW where this character is originally from kendo is still very strong. The movie really had a big following here in Japan and especially in Iwate. Go see it when you have a chance.
So far this is the best English website that I can find that explains the movie in short detail.
http://www.miff.ru/25/eng/moscow-xxv/films/?film=286&program=35