The soul of the Samurai. Courtesy of WarnerBros.com

Butchering Bushido

By Joaquin Farinas
Additional research by Terry Leung, Natalie Lesly and Chen Yang

RealVideo from the Last Samurai Premiere!

"The Last Samurai" won the box-office its opening weekend taking in an estimated $24 million dollars. The period piece focuses on Captain Nathan Algren who is hired by the young Japanese Emperor to train his troops in the western fashion. The troops are training to hunt down and execute the renegade Katsumoto, the last of a line of ancient Shogunates. Captured and taken prisoner by the Samurai Katsumoto and his men, Algren finds the inner peace that has been eluding him for years. He defects from the American army and regains his honor by adopting Katsumoto's cause, a cause that he is not only willing to fight for but to die for as well.

Twenty years ago another movie brought the ancient culture of the "Japans," as they were called, to the attention of the American public. The television miniseries "Shogun" still remains one of the most watched television shows in American history. All together, the miniseries garnered nearly 125 million viewers over four nights, roughly half the population of the US in the 1980s. Much like Cruise's Algren, Richard Chamberlain is a white man trying to adapt to Japanese culture, a sea merchant in the 1600s who is shipwrecked and stranded in the City of Edo (Tokyo). Although widely popular in the States the miniseries received a lukewarm reception after its theatrical release in Japan. Many thought the film misunderstood the motives of the Samurai, particularly in the rituals of seppuku and hara-kiri (Self-disembowelment).

Although Japanese scholars have been far kinder to the authenticity of Zwick's film, the parallel to "Shogun" awakens a recurring question: Why is Asian culture only beautiful through western eyes? For some reason it has suddenly become trendy to be Asian. With films like "Kill Bill" and now Tom Cruise's "Last Samurai," Asian representation in cinema has become the new chic, a trend that will probably dissipate in the wake of a new ethnic trend.

Twelve years ago, Kevin Costner achieved international stardom with his epic of the Dakota Sioux, "Dances with Wolves." Like his counterpart in "The Last Samurai," Costner's Lt. John Dunbar defects from the American Calvary to join a people whose way of life is threatened with extinction. Costner popularly shed light on the plight of the Dakota Sioux and the beauties of their culture. The Sioux, however, has since lost its chic. Hollywood has since moved on to the Indian culture of Bollywood and now has come full circle back to the Japanese.

Further then just cinema, the culture of the Samurai is belittled by American pop-culture. It is prevalent in video games and television. In magazines and websites. During the early nineties, video games like "Samurai Showdown" and cartoons like "The Ronin Warriors" exploited the concept of the Samurai for exotic effects. "Samurai Showdown" was a Samurai version of "Fight Club" in a videogame. Warriors from all over Japan gather for duels to test their prowess and kill their opponents. This concept is in direct violation to Bushido. The samurai fought for honor, for a righteous cause, not for pleasure; "Ronin Warriors" showcased a group of master-less Samurai with supernatural powers.

'The Last Samurai," however approaches the subject of the Samurai with a little more solemnity. John Toll's sweeping camera captures the beauty of the Japanese hillside (substituted in the film with New Zealand) creating an experience that is not only visually engaging, but also helps capture Katsumoto's philosophy. Likewise, the restrained performances of actors Ken Watanabe and model-turned-actress Koyuki are emotionally engaging. What is missing, however, is the historical engagement. Zwick and his team of filmmakers scoured the globe to affix the film with the most authentic props. They neglected, however, the basic logic of the script. The screenplay written by Zwick, producer Marshall Herskovitz and John Logan opens with a more than questionable premise. The film is set in the 1870s shortly after the American Civil War. The young Japanese Emperor makes every effort to restore trade ties to the western world after a 200-year-long period of isolation. While this is historically accurate-Japan did open its borders around 1867 ushering in an age known as the Meiji period- the question of whether the last of the Samurai would so easily welcome a foreigner into its ranks is debatable. The purpose of Japan's self-imposed isolation was in order to keep its culture intact, to protect itself from Western Colonialism. While the Meiji period was a time of expansion in Japanese industry, the Samurai were the benchmark of conservatism. Keeping with the ideology of the past 200 years, they would have been much more likely to reject a white man rather than to embrace him like a brother.

I don't doubt the sincerity of both Cruise and Zwick in their desire to bring the beauty of the Samurai culture to mainstream attention. Yet the very notion of an American-centered epic of the Samurai belittles their culture. Warner Brothers best illustrates the point with their ad campaign. Their advertisement rests on the inference that Cruise's Capt. Algren is in fact the last samurai. There is no mention of Ken Watanabe, the actor who plays Katsumoto, the real "Last Samurai." For that matter there is no popular advertisement that features anyone but Cruise. How can a film that supposedly venerates a lost culture go out of its way to immortalize the American who simply adopted their cause, rather than the Samurai themselves?

Driving north along La Cienega one can't help but being taken in by "The Last Samurai" billboards. Tom Cruise, donning red armor, descends from a hillside on his horse, charging an unseen power. Sword in hand, his mouth is agape, mid-scream. Behind him is the support of the Japanese, a large force that has been virtually focused out. Directly beneath Cruise, in large, blood red letters: "The Last Samurai."

Does anyone know Japanese for the term "whitewash?"

For more information on the "Last Samurai" please visit: lastsamurai.warnerbros.com.

December 12, 2003