The Real Samurai Story Is Even Better Than the Movie... | History Buffs Reaction

[00:00:00]What's going on you bunch of heathens?

[00:00:01]Today we are checking out more history buffs. I really enjoyed the last one we watched and I decided today we're going to check out Last Samurai catch up on uh Shiroyama I believe was the song from Sabaton. And the video we watched was off the fan music video based off of this movie. And some of y'all said I should definitely check out the History Buffs uh movie on it. So here we are.

[00:00:30]I'm excited. The first one was super fun, so I'm hoping this one is too. Hope you guys enjoy it. The originals linked below. Let's jump in.

[00:00:53]Damn, this is again one of his first ones.

[00:00:58]Actually, this makes me think this makes me want to look up when his first one was.

[00:01:28]Oh, damn. So, this was one, two, three.

[00:01:31]His fifth ever.

[00:01:35]This was his fifth fifth ever.

[00:01:50]That's crazy. In all seriousness, this is a fantastic movie covering a period in history that I don't think gets as much attention as it should.

[00:01:58]>> See, a lot of people say it's a great movie. Not very American officurai rebellion. Over the course of the film, however, he begins to admire the samurai and their cause, eventually switching sides to fight for them. But really, this is a film about the Maji restoration of the 19th century and how one way of life that endured for hundreds of years was coming to an end and how Japan's rebirth into the modern era was about to begin. This is the last samurai.

[00:02:39]By the mid-9th century, whilst the rest of the world was playing the game of empires and changing under the industrial revolution, Japan was still a feudal society. This is because when the Tokugawa shogunit seized power in6003, they cut off all trade with the outside world and had any foreigner who landed on their shores instantly put to death.

[00:02:59]This policy of selfisolation was put into place. Damn, I didn't know about foreign influence would destabilize the country. Until just recently, Japan had been engulfed in a series of bloody civil wars fought by hundreds of feudal lords called daimo. Serving each daimo were an elite class of warriors known as the samurai. Like the medieval knights of Europe, they too were bound by a code of ethics similar to chivalry known as bushido. For over a century, the samurai battled each other in a never-ending power struggle for their daimo in order to claim the ultimate title of shogun, the most powerful of all daimo, the military dictator and ruler of all Japan.

[00:03:38]It wasn't until Tokugawa proclaimed himself as shogun did the country finally know peace and was unified as one nation. But there was a genuine fear that outside influence could very well challenge the balance of power. After suppressing a bloody Christian uprising in 1638, the Tokugawa shogunit imposed a selfisolationist policy called Sakoku that forbade any foreigner to enter Japan or any Japanese to leave it. So for over 200 years, Japan became an island frozen in time.

[00:04:10]It >> see yet again, I did not know like I knew they cut off like trade and everything. I didn't know that it was foreigner scene put to death. Um, and I also didn't know that no one was allowed to leave either. It was still very much the same feudal society ruled by the shogun and the samurai since the 17th century. But all of this would come years insane, too. 1853, four black ships were spotted off the coast heading directly to Ido Bay. It was an expedition sent by the United States to end Japan's selfisolation. And leading it was Matthew Perry. What?

[00:04:54]I didn't even know that. Why didn't you tell me?

[00:04:57]>> No, not that Matthew Perry.

[00:05:00]>> There it is. Bring in America. Bringing uh you are being liberated. Please do not resist.

[00:05:06]>> Commodore Matthew Perry. His mission was to force Japan to open its ports at all costs. And he landed on Bay. very familiar ultimatum.

[00:05:15]>> Either to open their country up for trade or the United States would take their country by force. Matthew Perry gave them a year to decide before leaving, promising to return with even more ships. Now, I can't even imagine the shock and panic that gripped Japan.

[00:05:31]They had never seen such ships before. I mean, it would be like the equivalent of that scene in Independence Day with the alien spaceships float over the White House.

[00:05:42]Now, what do we do? [music] Address the nation.

[00:05:47]There's going to be a lot of frightened people out there.

[00:05:49]>> Yeah, that that good great [ __ ] point. That isn't something I would think about either.

[00:05:56]200 years, never seen anyone these really [snorts] modern looking ships, like futuristic ships show up to them at least.

[00:06:06]And it's just some invading force that just says, "Hey, like either open up trade or we're going to take you take over your country by force."

[00:06:17]Damn, not something I thought about.

[00:06:18]Like I know I made the joke of the US uh you are being liberated. Please do not resist.

[00:06:25]>> True to his word, Matthew Perry returned on the 13th of February 1854.

[00:06:30]This time with 10 ships. The Japanese then had really only two options to make. The first was to go for war, which I'm sure there were plenty of samurai leaning in that direction, or accept the humiliating demands, which is of course a smart choice, and that's exactly what they did. In fact, they even took it a step further.

[00:06:49]As much as they resented the Americans asserting their dominance, their technological advances certainly impressed the Japanese. They knew that in order to survive in this age of Western imperialism, they would have to modernize and fast. Their speed and efficiency in doing so cannot be understated. Hiring thousands of experts from Europe and North America to advise and teach, Japan was able to achieve nearly 300 years of Western technological advancement in just over 20 years.

[00:07:19]>> This included railroads and army and supergraph lines. They even adopted Western clothing, clearly stating that Japan was a modern nation equal in power and stature to the West.

[00:07:42]I'm sorry. I'm still just stuck 20 year.

[00:07:46]Damn, they modernized hella quick.

[00:07:51]And find it ironic he's talking about got to resist the western powers uh and whatnot by becoming ourselves as he says in western clothing.

[00:08:03]>> In order to do so they had to completely change their political structure from top to bottom. The samurai were now becoming more and more obsolete by these reforms and were no longer the top class they had once been. By 1876, when the movie begins, more and more of their privileges were being stripped away as they were now not really needed in this new Japan. Tensions were running high as the samurai believed that the country was changing too fast and war for the very soul of Japan was about to begin.

[00:08:42]Now, you would have to be really stubborn not to see the similarities with The Last Samurai and Dances with Wolves. It's practically the same story.

[00:08:51]And Outsider God, Dances with Wolves, another movie I only very vaguely remember because I need to watch it in its entirety, like actually sit down and watch it because I remember my brother used to love that movie growing up. Kind of like this one.

[00:09:10]Um, but since I was so young when he watched it, I never really cared about it.

[00:09:19]But now it that's definitely one of those movies where I need to check out.

[00:09:23]>> An aggressive militarily expansionist civilization mingles with the technologically inferior indigenous population and grows to love them, even fight for them. It'd be easy to stand up and shout ripoff due to themes and the story it's trying to tell about the last days of a native people. Its great writing though goes a long way to get the audience to sympathize and feel a really high stake of Jeff.

[00:09:46]>> Okay, I'm going to watch. By the way, just got to say it. I'm going to finish recording this. I'm going to finish recording this, edit it, post it, and probably by the time you're watching this video, I will be I will have wa either have watched it or be watching it.

[00:10:05]>> Like I keep saying, "Oh, I need to." No, I'm going to like I have to watch this.

[00:10:09]It seems like such a good movie.

[00:10:12]>> Unlike that one other really overrated movie. So what? They're going to kill a bunch of smurfs in this one spot in the jungle. They have a whole planet to contend with. I'm sure there's more of them.

[00:10:25]>> Yeah.

[00:10:29]Yeah.

[00:10:34]>> That doesn't make sense.

[00:10:35]>> So anyway, our main protagonist of the film is Captain Nathan, who is an American adviser paid by the Japanese to train its new model army in modern warfare. He's loosely based on French captain Jeeel Brunette who trained and fought with the shogun in the Boschin war 7 years earlier, but you might as well not need to know that because in actual fact, Orgrin's a totally different character by this point, but written in a bit more of a believable way. As much as I love Dancing with Wolves, even I have to admit that these types of films tend to follow a certain movie trope, which I like to call the white savior complex. That's basically when a native people face annihilation and a white man comes in to save the day with his awesome power of being white.

[00:11:18]But we don't get that with the last samurai. Nathan is simply witnessing a moment in history, but is unable to shape it. The inevitability of the samurai's demise later in the film is clearest to him because he understands the futility of their situation in facing off against a modern army. This is drawing from his own experiences when he fought against another native people.

[00:11:38]The emperor is most interested in your American Indians. If you have fought against them in battle, we have your highness. The red man is a brutal adversary.

[00:11:56]The emperor wishes. God, that would that's actually insane. That just I mean especially during this time that's the [ __ ] emperor.

[00:12:09]You're in the same room as him. That's actually insane to think about.

[00:12:14]>> Captain Olgen, if it is true they wear eagle feathers and paint their faces before going into battle and that they have no fear.

[00:12:26]>> They're very brave. It's quite hard not to draw parallels between the N.

[00:12:31]>> That's that's actually a very I like that line from him.

[00:12:38]It's very telling like as as a character.

[00:12:42]He doesn't say they have no fear.

[00:12:45]He doesn't like spout anything off. It's just they are very brave. Because being brave is acting in spite of that fear.

[00:12:52]Doesn't mean you have no fear.

[00:12:58]That's that's that's actually kind of nice like little tidbit into like his history I would think anyway just based that's just what I got off of just this one small thing >> and the samurai they're both an ancient people with a deep rich culture and unfortunately stood in the way of imperialism and industrialization as he feels a real sense of deja vu in his new assignment >> I have been hired to help suppress [music] the rebellion of yet another tribal leader.

[00:13:29]Apparently, this is the [music] only job for which I am suited.

[00:13:35]I am beset by the ironies of my life.

[00:13:40]>> What I especially like about this character is that he is a lost soul without a people to call his own.

[00:13:45]Clearly tormented by guilt due to his past. Throughout the movie, we see him on a path of self-destruction, smothering his nightmares with alcohol abuse. Punitive expedition. Captain, >> Colonel Bagger. These people had nothing to do with the raids.

[00:13:59]>> Good night.

[00:14:00]>> Quietly now, boys.

[00:14:07]>> God, I've got to I have to watch this movie.

[00:14:12]I'm excited to watch the movie.

[00:14:17][screaming] Oh, [ __ ] Oh, this Oh, this is hard to watch.

[00:14:45]When Ugrren gets captured by the samurai, the film makes it clear that this is a character who wants to die and sees no chance of redemption for the crimes he has committed.

[00:14:56]>> Due to his imprisonment, however, he is denied his usual supply of steady booze and he regresses in a state of detox, unable to ignore the screams of the dead. Finally overcoming his alcohol addiction, he is free to walk amongst the samurai first as an outsider. But gradually over time, he begins to respect them in their way of life, finding something in them that had all been but lost to him.

[00:15:22]>> Everyone is polite. Everyone smiles and bows.

[00:15:26]But beneath their courtesy, I detect a deep reservoir of feeling.

[00:15:32]They are an intriguing people. From the moment they wake, they devote themselves to the perfection of whatever they pursue.

[00:15:49]>> I have never seen such discipline.

[00:15:51]>> God, Japanese lawnmows like that. I love the I love it how it became like kind of a sport form.

[00:16:03]That's it. And like if you actually see actual footage of like competition slash performances done with them there. It's so cool to actually watch >> part of the film bit by bit as the movie slowly progresses. We can really see the journey of character arc and even understand what it is about the samurai he finds so attractive. The friendships he makes between Katsumoto and the other samurai feel real and heartfelt when he makes that ultimate decision in the end to fight for their cause, even though he knows that there is no chance of them surviving. So, it makes sense why Organ would want to switch sides in the first place. And at least he did it for a noble cause, unlike Jake Sully, whose reason doing so seemed to be primarily motivated out of his curiosity and intercies erotica.

[00:16:57]Whilst Nathan Olgrren is a completely I mean it probably started that way with I I I will give Avatar this. It started that way. He fell in love started falling in love with the I I don't know. I think he just loves giving it giving the movie [ __ ] because I don't necessarily see it that way.

[00:17:19]character. Katsumoto is heavily based on the real samurai rebel leader Saiko Takamorei. Like Katsumoto, he also believed that Japan was changing too fast. But he was not completely against modernization. He understood the potential dangers the western powers could inflict in Japan for not doing so.

[00:17:36]So Saigo backed up many of the social and political reforms that were going on and helped to overthrow the shogun in the Bosshin War, placing Emperor Miji as the central figure head in the Japanese government.

[00:17:48]One of the biggest reforms he supported actually was the modernization of the Japanese army. There are actually many pictures that could be found of Saigo Takamorei wearing a western uniform.

[00:17:59]Unlike his film counterpart Katamoto, Saigo had no problem whatsoever with using guns. And when he didn't use them, it was not for the stupid reason that the film states. Who supplies your weapons?

[00:18:19]Katsumoto no longer dishstones [music] himself by using firearms. You see, >> he uses no firearms.

[00:18:25]>> You see, to those who wanted the old ways, Katsumoto is a hero.

[00:18:28]>> He's also an idiot. I'm sorry, but if Katsumoid advantages in using projectile weapons, then he really is an idiot.

[00:18:37]Historically speaking, the samurai were never stupid enough to scoff at the idea of using guns. Well, at least the ones who survived.

[00:18:45]>> Great point. The ones who survived didn't [screaming] dishonorable to use guns. The samurai had been used to shooting each other for 300 years. So, what the [ __ ] is he talking about? Cuz Saigo Takamorei had no problem using guns whatsoever. He outfitted his samurai rebels with guns and cannons, only to later fall back on conventional samurai weaponry when he ran OUT OF AMMUNITION.

[00:19:15]NOW, OF COURSE, ONE OF THE biggest differences, >> see, that's one of the biggest gripes I've heard about this movie >> between the character of Katamoto and Saigo.

[00:19:23]>> [ __ ] Did I just go really quiet for a long time?

[00:19:29]I just kind of went quiet just watching this cuz I I got super engrossed into it. Um >> yeah I I I I I don't remember >> where their reasons for rebelling against the imperial government in the first place. For example, with Katsumoto, his cause is highly romanticized in the movie, portrayed to be an actual service to an emperor who is really being manipulated by ambitious men like Amura, blind to what is actually going on, where the samurai are being targeted by the government almost like an ethnic group to be ostracized and humiliated in public. The banning of the samurai's right to carry their swords was the final straw due to their cultural and spiritual significance.

[00:20:19]Now, whilst a lot of this is true, the samurai were really just fighting to protect the status of their class and their privileges, such as exemption from taxation, the right to kill a commoner if they were given disrespect, and being the only ones allowed to fight. For hundreds of years, the samurai had been used to being the top dogs in Japanese society. But now, they were no longer really needed in this day and age.

[00:20:41]>> Yep. They were >> it was only in the face of >> um if I remember the video history section of Sabaton correctly, it was they were no longer a nion if not noble class. They were just another commoner at this point which is why uh in real life they decide to fight. They like yes as as he was saying yes it was they were being targeted a bunch of [ __ ] like that but also they wanted to be high status again their classes abolition did they rise up however not all samurai resisted such change during the 200 years of selfisolation Japan had enjoyed a long reign of peace and prosperity peace and prosperity is wonderful and all for the common man but it wasn't all that great for the samurai the warrior class had no wars to fight and the status of their class forbade them from taking any other form of employment because it was considered beneath them. And I'm sure many resented the fact that whilst their form of income was fixed, the absolute bottom class, the merchants, started earning more money than them. So these social reforms actually provided many samurai a way out of their classes restrictions, allowing them to work as merchants, government officials, to serve in the armed forces and etc. So, the film's title, The Last Samurai, is a tiny bit misleading, as many of the politicians and officers who fought against the samurai were also samurai.

[00:22:13]>> Well, the general and Katamoto fought [music] together for the emperor.

[00:22:17]>> Yeah. Uh, in Sabaton history about I be pissed.

[00:22:23]I'm pretty sure it's Shira.

[00:22:27]Um, let me check really quick.

[00:22:35]Uh, yep. Shiroyama. Uh the during the battle that they fought, the general on the or the leader of the military on the government side, was it Saigo?

[00:23:00]So yeah, Takam Oh, was it Takamorgi? Nakamorei Saigo, whatever. That one, the the dude who led the military for the who led the modernized military, he he and the uh rebel leader fought together and he wanted him to uh surrender. So, he saw it as useless waste of bodies.

[00:23:33]>> He fought with the samurai.

[00:23:37]He is samurai.

[00:23:46]>> Now, I must stress that as much as I love The Last Samurai, I have to let you know that you cannot take it too seriously within its historical context.

[00:23:55]For example, one painfully inaccurate scene is the fog battle. Apart from the fact that it probably didn't happen, its portrayal of the capability of the Imperial Army by 1876 is completely ridiculous. The Imperial Army had already been tried and tested during the Boschin War. Yet, in the movie, they are completely inexperienced and can't shoot for [ __ ] giving the impression that this is the first time this modern army has ever fought against the samurai, which just isn't true.

[00:24:27]>> That's a good point.

[00:24:36]That's a cool point.

[00:24:39]Cool to know that going into this. Like, yeah, I mean, obviously it's Hollywood.

[00:24:43]You can never take this [ __ ] too seriously.

[00:24:47]And yeah, I mean, at this point, it's that's that's cool to know that, hey, yeah, no, this is wrong. They were already [ __ ] they already had experience. They they knew what they were doing, but it it wasn't like this.

[00:25:00]>> RUNNING FROM THE BATTLEFIELD. A SHAMEFUL DISPLAY.

[00:25:07]>> HOWEVER, I do understand why it's in the movie. It obviously wants to show how formidable these samurai warriors were, even though Saigo Takamorei actually lost every single battle he fought. But the film's main objective is not to present an accurate portrayal of the Satsuma rebellion, but to give a small insight into samurai society in its last days of glory. Olgrin is not only a great character, the drama at the end of the end of the samurai, allowing the audience to see the simple lives of the samurai through his eyes and the painful transitional period between feudal and imperial Japan.

[00:25:52][ __ ] turkey.

[00:25:52]>> The final >> moments of the last battle in the film not only is very close to what happens in real life, but is also the perfect metaphor, marking the end of one Japan and the beginning of another. How a class of ancient warriors that rule Japanese society for hundreds of years was cut down by the industrial age.

[00:26:10]years of training and skill with the sword and bow cast aside for the efficiency of mass-produced weapons of war. It's an incredibly >> Yep. Uh in the Sabaton history talks about how reason why one of the big reasons why uh Okay, so Saigo was the opposition leader. reason why he lost was because uh it was easier to train a [ __ ] standard rifleman like they were over replacing a samurai because a samurai dedicated their entire life to the sword doing everything like that. Whereas you could train up and get reinforcements really easily when it came to the regular military.

[00:26:57]And so every loss he had was debilitating versus however many losses the actual military.

[00:27:05]>> Powerful scene and truly captures the spirit of the samurai.

[00:27:19]I'm probably going to have to put a overlay on this one. Huh.

[00:27:31]choosing to go out on their own terms rather than fade away from the pages of history to die with honor rather than live without purpose. Their sacrifice for what they believed in struck such accord with Japanese society that Emperor Magi postumously pardoned Psycho Takamorei and he became a national hero.

[00:27:50]The imperial government quickly revived elements of Bashido and adopted it to become Japan's new nationalist moral code. Honor, duty, loyalty to the emperor, and self-sacrifice were all attributes of the samurai that would endure well into the 20th century.

[00:28:07]>> Yeah, as we saw during World War II, which is the big thing that I know about the >> That wraps it up. My name is Nick Hodges and thanks for watching History Buffs.

[00:28:18]And remember, if you like it, help the channel grow.

[00:28:22]>> Don't forget to hit that like and subscribe button.

[00:28:25]>> I'm already subst.

[00:28:28]And of course, what historical >> 30 minutes ago has 36.

[00:28:32]>> Until then, I'll see you next time.

[00:28:41]Honestly, great great video as always. I say always, this only second video I've seen, but it's always cool.

[00:28:50]Like, this is going to give me so many more movies to actually check out, and I can't wait. Oh, I [clears throat] also need to check out uh Zulu today as well.

[00:28:59]So, I'll probably end up watching that one today as well. Make sure you guys go check out the original, like, comment, subscribe, check out some of my other reactions. Sure, there's something there for you. I mean, check out uh Shiroyama by Sabaton. Great song. It goes in the into more history behind this period of war.

[00:29:18]Great time. Hope you guys enjoy it. And until next time, you guys take care of yourselves. See you.