The Last Samurai, directed by Edward Zwick is a dramatic action movie, taking place in Japan after the American Civil War. The film displays Japanese culture in 1876. The filmmakers accurately, as well as inaccurately, portray Japanese culture during this time period. They use outfits, architecture, language, and other cultural aspects to depict the samurai way of life, while adding their own touch of Hollywood as well. As you will see, I was able to find a few similarities to what I have learned in my various art history classes, too.
The film begins as Civil War veteran Captain Nathan Algren is being introduced as a high class, distinguished soldier. Captain Algren drunkenly goes on stage, and is ultimately fired. He is met by an old colleague, who offers him job training the Japanese Emperor’s army. Later, they meet with Japanese representative, Omura who states he is specifically looking for a white man with experience in war to train the emperor’s army. Captain Algren is obviously shown to be a man suffering from PTSD, so at first he denies the job but is eventually convinced. Omura explains to Algren that the emperor is seeking a modern western infantry and training for his army. Eventually, Captain Algren and his superior Colonel Bagley are shipped to Japan where they are met by an American translator who lives in Japan, Simon Graham.
Graham brings the two American soldiers to Emperor Meiji’s palace. As they are walking up the many stairs that lead to the palace, Graham explains to Algren and Bagley a few Japanese customs: if the emperor stands, one must bow and if the emperor bows, one must bow lower. He also explains that for two thousand years no “commoner” would have seen the emperor in person, how honored they should feel for being granted permission, which is historically accurate. As they entered the palace I noticed a few familiar details. I realized that a lot of the Japanese culture depicted in the film was very similar to what I have learned in an art history class at Bloomsburg University, about China during the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty was the final imperial dynasty in China, lasting from 1644 to 1912. It was an era noted for its initial prosperity and tumultuous final years, and for being only the second time that China was not ruled by the Han people. For example, the color scheme of the palace. While being a classic Japanese meeting room with wide-open space, bamboo curtains, and/or sliding doors separating each room, there is an overwhelming amount of yellows and reds painted all around the room.
Along with that similarity to China, there was also a golden five claw lion on the ground in front of the emperor, who was sitting in the shadows of a tented area. The sliding doors were painted with cherry blossom trees, which would’ve been common during that time period in Japan.
Although these details are accurate, after further research I was able to find some inaccurate details about this specific scene, as well. Although the two American soldiers are accurately dressed and equipped with their formal uniform and sword, this detail was added in by filmmakers. No man, and especially a foreigner would be allowed in the presence of the Emperor
whiled armed with any type of weapons. As the film continues, Captain Algren trains the emperor’s army and equips them accurately with western weapons like rifles with bayonets, pistols, and swords. They train for a few weeks, but unpreparedly go into a small battle with the samurai. The samurai, although accurately equipped with the correct weaponry, are inaccurately dressed in formal armor. After further research, I found that the armor worn in the film was accurate to the samurai, although it was an inaccurate time in history; they would not have been wearing that specific armor. In this scene, the emperor’s army is forced to retreat, and is slaughtered by a flanking group of samurai. Captain Algren is captured along with one of the emperor’s army superiors, General Hasewaga. General Hasewaga is said to be a former samurai, who was considered a traitor by the samurai. As Algren is being carried away, General Hasewaga is shown on his knees, surrounded by samurai warriors. General Hasewaga then drives a blade into his stomach, and is beheaded by Katsumoto, a samurai leader. The detail of the beheading is not entirely accurate, but a samurai leader very well may have done this to a well-known enemy or prisoner. This part of the scene is fairly accurate too, because the dishonor of being a traitor would ultimately result in suicide by a samurai, specifically called seppuku. Seppuku is a form of ritual suicide that originated with Japan’s ancient samurai warrior class. The grisly act typically involved stabbing oneself in the belly with a short sword, slicing open the stomach and then turning the blade upwards to ensure a fatal wound. This part of the film would be an educational, gruesome attention-getter, to inform the viewer while at the same time being an entertaining aspect.
Another accurate detail is the religion of the samurai. Katsumoto is shown kneeling before a statue of Buddha praying. This is accurate to the religion in Japan in the 1800s, and after learning about China during the Qing Dynasty, I realized this is also another related fact to China during the Qing Dynasty. The film progresses as the captured Captain Algren is initially kept alive to learn about the emperor’s new army, but eventually is found learning the samurai way of life and fighting with them in battle. He learns how to properly wield a samurai sword and spear, along with how to live by samurai customs.
The Last Samurai is a well-plotted movie, and for the majority of the movie is historically accurate in the way they depict Japan in the 1800s. It is an action-filled, gory drama where the main characters are often faced with hard decisions one would not face on a normal basis. Although the filmmakers added a touch of inaccurate details like outfits and customs, to make the film more entertaining, I enjoyed the film and would recommend anyone should watch it if they are interested in the history of Japan and America in the 1800s, and are a fan of action movies.
