How To Speak Japanese
The common threads of Japanese honor culture through Shogun, The Last Samurai, and Tokyo Vice - plus a guide to Tokyo and Kyoto with an easter egg at the end
Comrades: Konichiwa.
Japan is the most unique culture on the planet. Honor, duty, and loyalty are paramount. Japan’s people and spirit have remained constant over thousands of years. The language and land are naturally poetic, lending themselves to great works of art. Shogun, The Last Samurai, and Tokyo Vice are masterpieces that share a common thread of outsiders navigating Japan in different eras. For more Yuri travel guides, click here.
Shogun is based on palace intrigue leading up to the Edo period of the 1600s. The TV show released this year was inspired by the 1975 James Clavell novel. English captain John Blackthorne wrecks his ship on the Japanese coast and becomes entangled with Lord Toranaga. In stark contrast to the ugly noise of most modern Hollywood productions, Shogun is slow, quiet, and beautiful. The dialogue is full of nuance and gravitas, while the visuals are stunning. Scenes last many minutes to build up suspense, instead of fast cuts for ADHD addled brains. The cast and characters portray depth and strength. Sex and violence are artful, neither gratuitous nor senseless. The two leading female characters use feminine charm, guile, and wits in a powerful yet realistic way.
The Last Samurai is a 2003 movie based on the upheavals between the 1868 Meiji Restoration and 1877 Satsuma Rebellion. Tom Cruise plays Nathan Algren, and decorated American soldier traumatized by the atrocities he witnessed during the Indian Wars. He accepts a mercenary assignment to train a modernized Japanese army to crush a samurai rebellion. After being captured by the samurai, he falls for their way of life. Ken Watanabe plays Katsumoto, the samurai leader. Hiroyuki Sanada plays his lieutenant Ujio, as well as the regal Lord Toranaga in Shogun.
The scene in which Algren’s consort dresses him before the climactic battle is one of the most romantic ever filmed:
The final charge tugs at the hearts of every man:
Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack is one of the greatest ever made:
Tokyo Vice is based on the memoirs of American journalist Jake Adelstein. He investigates the yakuza in Tokyo at the turn of the millennium. Ken Watanabe plays a Tokyo detective who reveals the underworld to Adelstein. Now that the samurai are long gone, the yakuza carry on its traditions in a gritty urban setting. The aesthetics and storylines of this show are as slick as they come.
My friend Isaac Simpson wrote a great review of Tokyo Vice:
Around a decade ago, I visited Japan and was blown away. Photos and observations after the paywall…