Twilight Samurai

[Anonymous]

Twilight Samurai would be an excellent movie for students to observe the influence of Confucian philosophy in everyday life on the Warrior class. Students would observe reverence for parents no matter how enfeebled they become as evidenced by the Samurai lovingly caring for his senile mother. He also shows how much he values family honor when he takes on crushing debt to give his wife a respectable funeral. His first responsibility is to his family, his mother and daughters. He risks ridicule and shame by putting their welfare above his own. His close friends and superiors give him sound advice as Confucius instructs them to. He demonstrates loyalty to his clan by taking on a risky job he would prefer not to do, and eventually dies in their service. His friend pledges to care for his daughters if he dies in the service of the clan and his new wife’s family looks after his daughters faithfully after he is killed in battle. Students also can observe how Confucian principles were instilled in young people.

[Anonymous]

Excellent movie... We watched it on netflix last night. The movie was a snapshot of Japan at the moment of change... and the theme of liminality, of the edges of existence, of changing roles, changing values, class, gender... it is constantly explored. Interesting view of life from a "petty" Samurai... His struggles to get by, his devotion to his family, and desire just to live a simple life. Very strong performance by Senada Hiroyuki. The movie is fairly unique as a "samurai" movie. He isn't wandering. It isn't the 1600s. He has a job and is farming, building cricket cages, and working a job to make ends meet. There isn't a lot of blood. There are consequences.

[Anonymous]

I Loved this movie -- or wwhat we've seen of it so far. The Man who doesn't fit into the society in which he lives... IT seems he has a different view of the place of women in his society -- which comes out when his daughter asks why she needs to study Confucious.... Her uncle states that it is useless for girls to do so as well... Our protagonist is not only different in his situation, a widower with two girls, who is enjoying raising his girls... His attire and attitudes are different from the norm and are not accpted by his family nor his community.. I want to see where this ends up going in the movie.

[Anonymous]

I like the movie which takes place in 19th century Japan just before the Meiji Restoration. It depicts everyday life from the perspective of a low ranking Samurai who struggles with personal tragedy and providing for his family. It shows a glimpse into the pressure to go with the group and going out to drink and carouse, sort of as what happens in some circles of society in the U.S. Mentions are made of the changes in Japan coming over the horizon because of the Meiji and the hierarchical structure existing in Japan when the clan ordered the man to commit suicide and when the clan orders 'Sir Twilight' to kill him. Although the hero of the movie dies in a battle against the emperor troops, his daughter makes a point that loving your family is what really matters, rather than the pursuit of a better position, ambition, defending your pride. It was a good movie.

[Anonymous]

Points of interest- Japanese understatement. How he is supposed to defer to his uncle, but doesn't... how it bothers him that the idea given to him about remarriage was like "buying a cow" and how he "it is disrespectful, even to the woman." The role of women and how Tomoe and the daughters are challenging this... Iguchi and his devotion to his daughters, mother, and this idea of romantic love...He has lost interest in being a swordsman, but apparently excels in it. His interest in the daughter's education and how his education has stuck with him. And even how the samurai were stratified by their allowances.

[Anonymous]

I agree with Moyer that I would be able to show parts of the movie for the 7th grade World History. Perhaps I could use part of the movie to show what the samurai looked liked and the social structure (kids would love the shaved head). Also, I appreciate the lack of cliches in the film.
edited by jsheehan on 7/31/2012

[Anonymous]

Sheehan - thats a good point about the lack of cliches in the film.

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Twilight Samurai was a very interesting and moving film. The story was about a very low ranking samurai whose wife had died and he had the responsiblity of caring for his two young daughters and senile mother. It shows very well the daily life of a samurai, the different jobs they did, their relations with their families, and other samurai. I think my students would be very interested in seeing at least parts of this film because most of them imagine samurai riding around the country fighting all the time. Also the ranks of the various samurai was illustrated well, the main character being a 50 kunu samurai and his friend being a 500 konu samurai, refering to the money they made. My students would also be interested to see the different jobs they did, overseeing the wharehouses of food, accounting as well as farming and piecework. Even though this movie takes place after the time period we study in 7th grade, I believe parts of the movie including the end when he is ordered to fight would be beneficial in getting a true idea of what life was like for the Japanese samurai.

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