Happy Holidays all. It had been a while since I last updated so I thought I would get this up before the new year. There is one more Chapter to update before the holidays end, and I hope to have it up on January 2.
Just so you know, each Chapter Summary is a summary of 2 or 3 gaming sessions.
Enjoy.
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Summary: The Cabal discovers more about the history of the Shinwa Taisen. Inspector Imada asks the cabal to investigate the suicide of three high school girls all of whom are linked to a falling J-pop star.
Recap:
Two weeks have passed since the events from Chapter 3.
Each of the Cabal Members is doing their own thing. Tenzin is cutting back on training Gei Ho just a bit. He tries to explain to him not to trust Sa-an or other mages who might do them harm. Kemosiri goes back to Dr. Wu to find out more about the scroll. Dr. Wu has ordered a book from Tokyo that will help in translating the scroll (he hopes – Kemosiri is not so optimistic). Dr. Wu is getting annoyed that he is only finding out about the scroll in bits and pieces.
Kemosiri and Mori decide to go visit the Kakumeiso to find out more about the Shinwa Taisen. Jizo agrees to see them and greets them warmly. He offers them tea and they sit and chat. When asked about the Shinwa Taisen, Jizo tells them that it was a document created in 800 AD under the reign of Empress Pimiko. She commissioned the creation of 3 documents – the Legends, the History and Magical History (Shinwa Taisen). Besides holding history, the document was also rumoured to be a grimoire and held powerful spells that apparently date back to the time of Atlantis. The Empress later decided not to release it as the knowledge it contained was deemed too dangerous. She then created a warrior class whose express purpose was to guard the Shinwa Taisen and keep it away from prying eyes. She named the warriors, Samurai.
Two Mage cabals, the Kodoshigisha and Hagakure Kyodai, became responsible for the Shinwa Taisen’s safety. It remained safe and secret until the 20th century and World War II. Fearing that others, including western Cabals, would find the Shinwa Taisen, the Kodoshigisha decided it was prudent to move it. Other Cabals objected, but as they were the ruling Cabal of Kyoto, they’re word held sway. En route to its final destination, the Shinwa Taisen was destroyed when the Americans dropped the first nuclear bomb on Hiroshima. Many members of Kodoshigisha committed seppuku in shame and Gyochisa became the new ranking Cabal of Kyoto.
After hearing these revelations, Kemosiri and Mori thank Jizo for being so helpful and leave.
Meanwhile, Kontonshin tries to find an authentic samurai sword. As a Japanophile, she has wanted to find an authentic katana for some time. Her trip to Japan has given her just such an opportunity. After doing some searching around, Kontonshin finds a master outside of Kyoto who has made many and he charges $250K US for one. Balking at the price, she decides to come back later. She makes a hasty exit and runs into a weirdly dressed gentleman who introduces himself as Kaze. Kaze says he can sell her a Katana for $50K US. All she has to do is meet her at the Kyoto Cultural Centre the next day and he will have one. Suspecting this is all a set up, she talks to Det. Imada and tells him about the scam artist. He decides to investigate.
In the meantime, Imada has his own story to tell. He presents the pictures of 3 girls – they all died a month ago on the same hour at the same night. A fourth girl, Hoshi, is in a psych ward in Kyoto for trying to do the same thing. He would like the group to investigate this mystery as he does not know where else to go. Kemosiri recognizes the girls. He had seen them before on the first night he was in Kyoto and had intended to investigate them. He decides that now is as good a time as any.
The Cabal returns to the alleyway where Kemosiri first saw the “Suicide Triplets.” The Triplets pass by and the Cabal follows. The triplets turn a corner and one of them drops an CD for Satomi Shimizu a fading j-pop idol. The girls school is around the corner and Mori breaks in and goes to one of the girls lockers. They find a pic of a boy and a poster for Shimizu. They get out and go home.
More net investigation and they discover that Shimizu has been despondent lately – her latest boyfriend broke up with her and she is playing a small concert in Osaka the next night. Her star is fading fast. Her 4th album in four years only went to #20 on the J-pop charts.
They call Imada the next morning and he agrees to come to the school to assist. He also reports that there was a break in last night. The principal cooperates with them. The boy is no lead. Hoshi’s locker shows a pic of her and Shimizu.
They go visit Hoshi in the hospital. Both Hoshi’s forearms are completely bandaged. Hoshi is rough with the Cabal and does not want to speak to them. She says she was in the band as a backup singerabe fired when she giving Satomi flowers. She railed against Satomi for a while before Hoshi’s website was shut down by Satomi’s lawyers. That is all she would say.
The Cabal decides to attend her concert. After several hours, the concert ends. Then Mori vaults onto the stage attracting all the security guards in sight. He uses sleight of hand to perform distracting magic and allow Kontonshin and Kemosiri to get behind the guards and onto the backstage.
Kontonshin and Kemosiri get into Satomi’s room on pre-text that they are with a group with backstage passes. Their disguise slips and then they try to convince her they are reporters. Finally, they confess and tell Satomi they are paranormal investigators. Satomi kicks everyone but Kontonshin and Kemosiri out and then breaks down in tears. Through the sobs, she says ghosts are haunting her and they have been haunting her for the past month and a half. She is on verge of nervous breakdown. When shown pictures of the Suicide Triplets, she recognizes two of them.
Kemosiri and Kontonshin leave and return to the Chantry to do more research. They believe that Hoshi has something to do with things, but are not sure what. They come up with plan to scare her into telling them something.
The Cabal go back to the hospital. When they enter the hospital, Kemosiri sees several ghosts. As the Cabal predicted, Hoshi would have nothing to do with them and tries kicking them out. Kemosiri does a general ghost summons and attracts six ghosts who haunt the hospital. Some of them are not happy to see Kemosiri.
When Hoshi sees the ghosts, she screams and tries hiding under her sheets. Kontonshin and Mori pull the sheets off to make her see and then ask her again what she knows. Hoshi says she will tell them everything as long as they get rid of the ghosts. Kemosiri begins to dismiss the ghosts, but some of them are now rather pissed off that they were summoned in the first place. They begin hurling objects around the room and smashing lamps. Several light fixtures explode. Objects begin to fly at the Cabal. Hoshi screams and hides behind her now overturned bed. Mori tries to bar nurses and other hospital staff from getting into the room while Kemosiri and Tenzin command the ghosts to leave. When they are finally gone, security breaks down the doors. Mori explains that Hoshi had a temper tantrum and that she is all right now.
Before they leave, Hoshi gives the Cabal a wooden bowl. She explains that she received it in the mail after Satomi fired her but that she does not know who sent it. To use it, all she had to do was give the Buddha of the Bowl blood so it would perform her every wish. She apologizes and says she did not realize the ghost in the bowl would kill Satomi’s fans. She only wished to hurt Satomi.
When the Cabal returns to the Chantry, they use Mage Sight and determine that a Wrath Spirit is trapped within the bowl. They find out that that the “Buddha’s” former master stored it in a place called “Unit 731” more than 60 years ago. They also find out that the spirit was originally a Chinese Emperor who existed over 1000 years ago.
After interrogating the spirit, Mori drains it of essence enough to kill the spirit. Tenzin tries to object saying that the Spirit may be able to help locate the one who sent it to Hoshi, but Mori does not listen. The Cabal keep the bowl as it still has some resonance on it.
Next: Hashi no Kochou - Ch 5
Friday, December 30, 2005
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Star Trek: The New Voyages
If you were a fan of the original Star Trek series (you know, the one with Kirk, Spock and McCoy), you will be happy (?) to know that the last TWO years of that original five year mission are now being filmed. You can download the first two episodes from "Season 4" at Star Trek: the New Voyages.
Check it out.
Check it out.
Weapons of the Gods
This is a new RPG from EOS Press is based on a Hong Kong Wuxia comic book. EOS has done a ton of research into this "Fantasy China" and the system seems to be rules lite (d10's only).
It is now available in PDF form at Drive Thru RPG. A full color book from EOS Press is also available.
Check it out. It could replace Feng Shui as my martial arts game of choice.
Friday, December 16, 2005
SC8 Submission
Okay, I've been a bit late with the posts lately. Why? Because I have been hard at work at my latest writing project, Togeriso's SC8 Submission. I got it in under the wire.
If you would like to read it, you can find it at (that's right) my new writing blog I have entitled Dragon Lit.
You can see the other submissions at the CCC Storyline, Fiction and RPG Forum
Read. Enjoy.
If you would like to read it, you can find it at (that's right) my new writing blog I have entitled Dragon Lit.
You can see the other submissions at the CCC Storyline, Fiction and RPG Forum
Read. Enjoy.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
The Order of the Stick
I was just introduced to this new web comic about the joys of roleplaying games entitled the Order of the Stick by Rich Burlew. It is absolutely hilarious. There are over 250 of these comics already and I think they are being compiled into a book. Read. Enjoy.
Monday, December 05, 2005
(RC) Mujina - Ch. 3
Summary: While Kemosiri delves into the mystery of the ancient Japanese scroll, Gei Ho, Tenzin’s sleepwalker retainer, begins visiting another cabal and inadvertently brings home a dangerous mind eating spirit.
Recap:
Two weeks after arriving in Kyoto, the Cabal has settled into a routine. Tenzin is teaching Gei Ho the rigors of his Bon Po legacy (what a Sleepwalker could reasonably learn). However, Gei Ho is chafing against this. Every night, Gei Ho ventures out and unbeknownst to the Cabal, has been making his way to Kyomizu-dera to talk with the mages of the Hagakure Kyodai. Sa-an, a young female mage of the Hagakure Kyodai, has lured him there and has surreptitiously been gaining valuable information about the Cabal from him.
This particular day begins with Gei Ho failing to meditate to Tenzin’s liking. He is thinking about the Tigers Baseball game Duncan is taking him to. Before he leaves, Gei Ho gives Tenzin an onamori (good luck charm) as a gift for all his teachings.
Kemosiri and Kontonshin are still researching the scroll. Kontonshin cannot translate anything – the writing is too archaic and she cannot discern their meanings. Kemosiri tries drawing some of the Kanji onto another piece of paper in the hopes of giving it to a Sleeper Professor who might know how to translate the Scroll. Akio Ogawa gives him the name of a Chinese Professor of Archeology at Kyoto University.
Mori, in the meantime, is trying to make deal with Itako for learning the Japanese.
Kemosiri makes an appointment to see Dr. Wu at Kyoto University and present copies of the Kanji. Dr. Wu says that they are unrecognizable as Kanji and wonders if someone is playing a joke. He wants to look at the scrolls more closely and believes that they might be a valuable find. Kemosiri agrees to return the next day.
Meanwhile, Tenzin, Kontinshin and Mori are at sanctum and begin to get a weird feeling that an unknown power is at work. They begin to use Mage Sight and Mori senses Awakened magic. He feels they are being scryed on and before he can examine any further, the scrying window disappears.
Kemosiri returns to the Sanctum and lets Kontonshin know that their kanji copies did not look like anything to the Professor. Kemosiri begins to scan the scroll with his laptop computer’s scanner and it comes out garbled. Confused, they use Mage Sight on the scroll and get an aura of powerful Magic, but nothing else – no other quality is present.
Duncan arrives back at the Sanctum. He dropped off Gei Ho near Kyomizu-dera. The others let Kemosiri know of the scrying and they begin to look for Gei Ho. They find him near Kyomizu-dera. Tenzin chides him for being out late and for consorting with other Mages. Tenzin tells Gei Ho not to do such a thing again. After getting Gei Ho back to the sanctum, he runs away during the night.
The next day, Kemosiri and Kontonshin go to visit Dr. Wu – this time with the actual scroll. They give Dr. Wu more copies of the Kanji. Dr. Wu becomes annoyed that he has been given more copies of things he cannot recognize. Reluctantly Kemosiri and Kontonshin show him the real scroll. Dr. Wu examines it and can recognize several words – Kojiki (the Japanese creation myths) and Nihongi (the early history of Japan). He also recognizes words he pronounces as Shinwa Taisen. From the context, Dr. Wu surmises that this is another historical document written in conjunction with the Kojiki and Ninhongi (The Kojiki and Nihongi were written in approximately 800 AD under the rule of Empress Pimiko). The characters find out nothing else. Both begin to detect something unusual with their Unseen Senses and decide they must leave.
Kemosiri and Kontonshin decide to speak with the Itako whom they believe will be able to give them more information. As they arrive at the subway station, their Unseen Senses go off. Something is following them. Kemosiri turns on Spirit Sight sees a humanoid shaped Spirit materialized in Twilight. It is almost nine feet tall and completely black. However, where its head should be, Kemosiri sees a skull with its face ripped off. In that faceless void are hundreds of squirming maggots.
Kemosiri gives Kontonshin the scroll and tells her to run. She runs down the stairs towards the Itako’s sanctum. Kemosiri hobbles down the stairs, but the Spirit catches up with him, materializes, grabs him, and exhales thousands of maggots onto him. Kemosiri panics, but manages to free himself of the Spirit’s grip. He hobbles down the stairs and rushes through the steel door just as the Spirit reaches him. They slam the door in the Spirit’s “face”. Kemosiri tries hard to brush the maggots off his body, but still finds them in his clothes days later.
The Itako tells Kemosiri and Kontonshin that the spirit they encountered was a Mujina, a Faceless One. She also mentions that the wards against Spirits she has up seem to be working against it.
When asked about the term Shinwa Taisen, the Itako asks Kemosiri and Kontonshin where they had heard them. She is surprised that foreigners who had only been in town for two weeks could have heard of such a thing that up to this time, she had only heard in whispers.
The Itako tells them that she does not want anything to do with the matter. She then tells Baka to show them out the back way. Baka leads them through the sewers to an outlet along the Kamo River.
In the meantime, Mori and Tenzin are out searching for Gei Ho. They go to Kiyomizu-dera where they believe Gei Ho has been going. Sa-an answers the door and denies having seen Gei Ho that night. She tells them that he had been come to her Sanctum a few times and that she regarded him as a fine young boy. Before they leave, Sa-an refers to Tenzin by his True Name and she smiles.
Kemosiri and Kontonshin return to the sanctum. Kemosiri is still brushing maggots off his clothes. The others still do not know where Gei Ho is. Suddenly, the door opens and Gei Ho walks in. He seems non-chalent about running away and asks if he can go upstairs to bed. They let him go but not before Tenzin chides him once again. Gei Ho shrugs it off. The rest confer about the scroll and about the days events.
Soon, they all begin to retire for the evening. Before he goes to bed, Kemosiri decides to scrutinize the sanctum with Spirit Arcana for anything unusual. He does not want to get scryed upon again. He enters Gei Ho’s room and sees Gei Ho standing up on his futon. Kemosiri further scrutinizes the room and finds a Spirit seemingly controlling Gei Ho. He quickly calls for the others. When Mori and Tenzin arrive, they see the Mujina standing above Gei Ho, maggots erupting from its faceless void entering any open orifice they can find.
The Mujina lets Gei Ho go and he collapses to his futon. It then attacks Kemosiri as he did before, by grabbing him and exhaling thousands of maggots onto him. This time, however, the maggots crawled and squirmed their way into his mouth, nose and eyes. At the same time, Kemosiri could feel the presence of another mind forcing its way into his consciousness.
While Kemosiri is immobilized, Tenzin tries commanding the Mujina. It just shrugs off his commands. Mori, now able to see the Mujina in Twilight, strikes at the Mujina with Celestial Fire and essence drain. The Mujina tries to lash out at his attackers. It is eventually banished back to the Shadow leaving Kemosiri a heap on the tatami mats (most of which will have to be disposed of because of maggots).
When the Cabal tries to take care of Gei Ho, they discover that the Mujina had stolen Gei Ho’s memories and that a part of his Soul was ripped out as a result. The Cabal fears that whoever sent the Mujina after them would be able to gain valuable knowledge about them through Gei Ho’s memories.
The Cabal decides that they MUST get Gei Ho’s memories back. They visit the Itako who tells them that the only one she is aware of with the power to get him back is Ane-san of the Kokuryu-kai.
They visit Ane-san’s sanctum, which is the top floor of the Umeda building in Osaka. They trick their way in and make a deal with her – she will open a gate to the Shadow and then they can call the Mujina using Gei Ho as a sympathetic connection. Kemosiri begins the ritual to tear Gei Ho’s soul from the Mujina. When he is ready, Ane-san casts a spell to call the Mujina and Tenzin calls the Mujina to the Gate. Kemosiri tears Gei Ho’s soul from the Mujina and Mori drains the Mujina of all its Essence and Corpus destroying it forever.
As a price, Ane-san asks the Cabal to get a personal item from Raiden, the head of Gyochisa, and deliver it before the next Consilium meeting.
Next: Idoru - Ch 4
Recap:
Two weeks after arriving in Kyoto, the Cabal has settled into a routine. Tenzin is teaching Gei Ho the rigors of his Bon Po legacy (what a Sleepwalker could reasonably learn). However, Gei Ho is chafing against this. Every night, Gei Ho ventures out and unbeknownst to the Cabal, has been making his way to Kyomizu-dera to talk with the mages of the Hagakure Kyodai. Sa-an, a young female mage of the Hagakure Kyodai, has lured him there and has surreptitiously been gaining valuable information about the Cabal from him.
This particular day begins with Gei Ho failing to meditate to Tenzin’s liking. He is thinking about the Tigers Baseball game Duncan is taking him to. Before he leaves, Gei Ho gives Tenzin an onamori (good luck charm) as a gift for all his teachings.
Kemosiri and Kontonshin are still researching the scroll. Kontonshin cannot translate anything – the writing is too archaic and she cannot discern their meanings. Kemosiri tries drawing some of the Kanji onto another piece of paper in the hopes of giving it to a Sleeper Professor who might know how to translate the Scroll. Akio Ogawa gives him the name of a Chinese Professor of Archeology at Kyoto University.
Mori, in the meantime, is trying to make deal with Itako for learning the Japanese.
Kemosiri makes an appointment to see Dr. Wu at Kyoto University and present copies of the Kanji. Dr. Wu says that they are unrecognizable as Kanji and wonders if someone is playing a joke. He wants to look at the scrolls more closely and believes that they might be a valuable find. Kemosiri agrees to return the next day.
Meanwhile, Tenzin, Kontinshin and Mori are at sanctum and begin to get a weird feeling that an unknown power is at work. They begin to use Mage Sight and Mori senses Awakened magic. He feels they are being scryed on and before he can examine any further, the scrying window disappears.
Kemosiri returns to the Sanctum and lets Kontonshin know that their kanji copies did not look like anything to the Professor. Kemosiri begins to scan the scroll with his laptop computer’s scanner and it comes out garbled. Confused, they use Mage Sight on the scroll and get an aura of powerful Magic, but nothing else – no other quality is present.
Duncan arrives back at the Sanctum. He dropped off Gei Ho near Kyomizu-dera. The others let Kemosiri know of the scrying and they begin to look for Gei Ho. They find him near Kyomizu-dera. Tenzin chides him for being out late and for consorting with other Mages. Tenzin tells Gei Ho not to do such a thing again. After getting Gei Ho back to the sanctum, he runs away during the night.
The next day, Kemosiri and Kontonshin go to visit Dr. Wu – this time with the actual scroll. They give Dr. Wu more copies of the Kanji. Dr. Wu becomes annoyed that he has been given more copies of things he cannot recognize. Reluctantly Kemosiri and Kontonshin show him the real scroll. Dr. Wu examines it and can recognize several words – Kojiki (the Japanese creation myths) and Nihongi (the early history of Japan). He also recognizes words he pronounces as Shinwa Taisen. From the context, Dr. Wu surmises that this is another historical document written in conjunction with the Kojiki and Ninhongi (The Kojiki and Nihongi were written in approximately 800 AD under the rule of Empress Pimiko). The characters find out nothing else. Both begin to detect something unusual with their Unseen Senses and decide they must leave.
Kemosiri and Kontonshin decide to speak with the Itako whom they believe will be able to give them more information. As they arrive at the subway station, their Unseen Senses go off. Something is following them. Kemosiri turns on Spirit Sight sees a humanoid shaped Spirit materialized in Twilight. It is almost nine feet tall and completely black. However, where its head should be, Kemosiri sees a skull with its face ripped off. In that faceless void are hundreds of squirming maggots.
Kemosiri gives Kontonshin the scroll and tells her to run. She runs down the stairs towards the Itako’s sanctum. Kemosiri hobbles down the stairs, but the Spirit catches up with him, materializes, grabs him, and exhales thousands of maggots onto him. Kemosiri panics, but manages to free himself of the Spirit’s grip. He hobbles down the stairs and rushes through the steel door just as the Spirit reaches him. They slam the door in the Spirit’s “face”. Kemosiri tries hard to brush the maggots off his body, but still finds them in his clothes days later.
The Itako tells Kemosiri and Kontonshin that the spirit they encountered was a Mujina, a Faceless One. She also mentions that the wards against Spirits she has up seem to be working against it.
When asked about the term Shinwa Taisen, the Itako asks Kemosiri and Kontonshin where they had heard them. She is surprised that foreigners who had only been in town for two weeks could have heard of such a thing that up to this time, she had only heard in whispers.
The Itako tells them that she does not want anything to do with the matter. She then tells Baka to show them out the back way. Baka leads them through the sewers to an outlet along the Kamo River.
In the meantime, Mori and Tenzin are out searching for Gei Ho. They go to Kiyomizu-dera where they believe Gei Ho has been going. Sa-an answers the door and denies having seen Gei Ho that night. She tells them that he had been come to her Sanctum a few times and that she regarded him as a fine young boy. Before they leave, Sa-an refers to Tenzin by his True Name and she smiles.
Kemosiri and Kontonshin return to the sanctum. Kemosiri is still brushing maggots off his clothes. The others still do not know where Gei Ho is. Suddenly, the door opens and Gei Ho walks in. He seems non-chalent about running away and asks if he can go upstairs to bed. They let him go but not before Tenzin chides him once again. Gei Ho shrugs it off. The rest confer about the scroll and about the days events.
Soon, they all begin to retire for the evening. Before he goes to bed, Kemosiri decides to scrutinize the sanctum with Spirit Arcana for anything unusual. He does not want to get scryed upon again. He enters Gei Ho’s room and sees Gei Ho standing up on his futon. Kemosiri further scrutinizes the room and finds a Spirit seemingly controlling Gei Ho. He quickly calls for the others. When Mori and Tenzin arrive, they see the Mujina standing above Gei Ho, maggots erupting from its faceless void entering any open orifice they can find.
The Mujina lets Gei Ho go and he collapses to his futon. It then attacks Kemosiri as he did before, by grabbing him and exhaling thousands of maggots onto him. This time, however, the maggots crawled and squirmed their way into his mouth, nose and eyes. At the same time, Kemosiri could feel the presence of another mind forcing its way into his consciousness.
While Kemosiri is immobilized, Tenzin tries commanding the Mujina. It just shrugs off his commands. Mori, now able to see the Mujina in Twilight, strikes at the Mujina with Celestial Fire and essence drain. The Mujina tries to lash out at his attackers. It is eventually banished back to the Shadow leaving Kemosiri a heap on the tatami mats (most of which will have to be disposed of because of maggots).
When the Cabal tries to take care of Gei Ho, they discover that the Mujina had stolen Gei Ho’s memories and that a part of his Soul was ripped out as a result. The Cabal fears that whoever sent the Mujina after them would be able to gain valuable knowledge about them through Gei Ho’s memories.
The Cabal decides that they MUST get Gei Ho’s memories back. They visit the Itako who tells them that the only one she is aware of with the power to get him back is Ane-san of the Kokuryu-kai.
They visit Ane-san’s sanctum, which is the top floor of the Umeda building in Osaka. They trick their way in and make a deal with her – she will open a gate to the Shadow and then they can call the Mujina using Gei Ho as a sympathetic connection. Kemosiri begins the ritual to tear Gei Ho’s soul from the Mujina. When he is ready, Ane-san casts a spell to call the Mujina and Tenzin calls the Mujina to the Gate. Kemosiri tears Gei Ho’s soul from the Mujina and Mori drains the Mujina of all its Essence and Corpus destroying it forever.
As a price, Ane-san asks the Cabal to get a personal item from Raiden, the head of Gyochisa, and deliver it before the next Consilium meeting.
Next: Idoru - Ch 4
Will Hollywood Ever Get it Right?
The upcoming movie adaptation of “Memoirs of a Geisha” has re-opened the debate regarding the portrayal of Japan in movies made in Hollywood. The usual criticism of such movies is that they invariably get the culture wrong.
If you want to know what I mean, look at Hollywood’s track record. The last Hollywood movie about Japan was “The Last Samurai” starring Tom Cruise. The movie took a part of Japanese history concerning the transition of Japan as a feudal nation into a more modern nation, and Americanized it to make it palatable for an American audience. Before that, we have “Lost in Translation”. A beautiful film to be sure, but one in which Japan gets lost in caricature behind two American actors (and I think the intention was the reverse). I am sure you can name other films in which Japan is distorted through a Western lens.
It looks like Hollywood is only going to continue on the same track with “Memoirs of a Geisha”. How do we know? First, “Memoirs” is an International effort – it is an adaptation filmed in California, of a book written by an American author, starring Chinese actors in the major roles, about a uniquely Japanese subject. When you have such a mutt-like pedigree, mistakes just have to creep onto the celluloid. What makes things worse, is that the author’s inspiration for his book is reported to be very critical of him – so much so, she is considering legal action (See “A Woman Scorned”).
To be fair, films are not history or cultural lessons – they are entertainment and entertainment has to entertain its target audience (in this case, a Western audience). If we desire bald facts, we should tune into the Discovery Channel. Or, better yet, since the movie is adapted from a book, read some good books on the subject.
Instead of reading “Memoirs of a Geisha”, by Arthur Golden, why not pick up “The Geisha of Gion” (recently re-titled and sold as “Geisha: a Life”), Mineko Iwasaki’s autobiography and response to Golden’s authorial errors.
Instead of watching the Tom Cruise eye candy that is “The Last Samurai”, peruse the biography of Saigo Takamori entitled “The Last Samurai - The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori” by Mark Ravina (Takamori is the real world inspiration for the movie of the same name).
These titles are in print and are widely available in North America.
Am I going to discourage you from attending the movie version of “Memoirs”? No. From what I have seen and the cultural misgivings I may have, it looks like a wonderfully shot film that may even inspire Oscar nods. Judge the film on its merits as a film, not on the cultural and historical lessons it has to offer.
Just remember that the films often get it wrong, but you can be learned enough to tell the difference. Oh, and for those of you reading this who know me, I have these books and will gladly lend them out.
If you want to know what I mean, look at Hollywood’s track record. The last Hollywood movie about Japan was “The Last Samurai” starring Tom Cruise. The movie took a part of Japanese history concerning the transition of Japan as a feudal nation into a more modern nation, and Americanized it to make it palatable for an American audience. Before that, we have “Lost in Translation”. A beautiful film to be sure, but one in which Japan gets lost in caricature behind two American actors (and I think the intention was the reverse). I am sure you can name other films in which Japan is distorted through a Western lens.
It looks like Hollywood is only going to continue on the same track with “Memoirs of a Geisha”. How do we know? First, “Memoirs” is an International effort – it is an adaptation filmed in California, of a book written by an American author, starring Chinese actors in the major roles, about a uniquely Japanese subject. When you have such a mutt-like pedigree, mistakes just have to creep onto the celluloid. What makes things worse, is that the author’s inspiration for his book is reported to be very critical of him – so much so, she is considering legal action (See “A Woman Scorned”).
To be fair, films are not history or cultural lessons – they are entertainment and entertainment has to entertain its target audience (in this case, a Western audience). If we desire bald facts, we should tune into the Discovery Channel. Or, better yet, since the movie is adapted from a book, read some good books on the subject.
Instead of reading “Memoirs of a Geisha”, by Arthur Golden, why not pick up “The Geisha of Gion” (recently re-titled and sold as “Geisha: a Life”), Mineko Iwasaki’s autobiography and response to Golden’s authorial errors.
Instead of watching the Tom Cruise eye candy that is “The Last Samurai”, peruse the biography of Saigo Takamori entitled “The Last Samurai - The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori” by Mark Ravina (Takamori is the real world inspiration for the movie of the same name).
These titles are in print and are widely available in North America.
Am I going to discourage you from attending the movie version of “Memoirs”? No. From what I have seen and the cultural misgivings I may have, it looks like a wonderfully shot film that may even inspire Oscar nods. Judge the film on its merits as a film, not on the cultural and historical lessons it has to offer.
Just remember that the films often get it wrong, but you can be learned enough to tell the difference. Oh, and for those of you reading this who know me, I have these books and will gladly lend them out.
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