No, it's not historically accurate, and it's not meant to be. But it does capture the feel of the Meiji era, the zeitgeist &c. The concerns of many Japanese at the time, that Japan had lost its cultural roots in the process of industrialising and becoming an imperial power, are well illustrated. As is part of the solution, a new-found reverence for neo-Confucian ideals of Feudal Loyalties and Filial Piety. What is not shown, but implied, is the way in which these beliefs combined with pan-Japanese nationalism and success abroad to allow the Japanese people overcome their case of cultural cringe and revitalise the old belief in innate Japanese (cultural) superiority.
But more importantly, this is a film about the journey of one man, a shell-shocked veteran, to find inner peace and come to terms with what he has done in the service of a country and a people with which he feels he no longer has anything in common. Halfway across the world, living among a different people who show him a new way of life, we come to hope that he will at last find some small measure of happiness. It's a beautiful and well-scored (Hans Zimmer-ed) look in at Meiji era Japan, and is well worth watching.
Main A good period Drama
No, it's not historically accurate, and it's not meant to be. But it does capture the feel of the Meiji era, the zeitgeist &c. The concerns of many Japanese at the time, that Japan had lost its cultural roots in the process of industrialising and becoming an imperial power, are well illustrated. As is part of the solution, a new-found reverence for neo-Confucian ideals of Feudal Loyalties and Filial Piety. What is not shown, but implied, is the way in which these beliefs combined with pan-Japanese nationalism and success abroad to allow the Japanese people overcome their case of cultural cringe and revitalise the old belief in innate Japanese (cultural) superiority.
But more importantly, this is a film about the journey of one man, a shell-shocked veteran, to find inner peace and come to terms with what he has done in the service of a country and a people with which he feels he no longer has anything in common. Halfway across the world, living among a different people who show him a new way of life, we come to hope that he will at last find some small measure of happiness. It's a beautiful and well-scored (Hans Zimmer-ed) look in at Meiji era Japan, and is well worth watching.