Dear Samurai mvoie ehtusiast,
I have seen the last Samurai movie in December, 2003. I bought the advanced tickest for me and and few students and took them to the Kabuki theater in San Francisco Japantown. We really enjoyed the movie but I have noticed many incorrect matters appeared in the movie.
1. The miliatry advisors were not sent to Japan from the US at that time.
2. After 1/2 hour of horse back riding from the Yamato Province, the Samurai reached the Mount Fuji area, which was located in the Kanto area ( Over 300 miles away ! ).
3. The Nihongo ( Japanese language ) they spoke among Samurai was not the Meiji Era's langauge.
4. All the Ninja used the replica swords. When one of them dropped the Ninjato, I have noticed that the Hamon was Sanbon-sugi ( Zig-zag ) style, which is the typical Hamon for the Mogito ( Reproduction sword ).
5. The actor Ken Watanabe was the only one who spoke like the Samurai from that Era.
Did you know that Bob ( Silent Samurai actor ) died over 20,000 times in the past Samurai-related movies ?
Maybe, we should not crush Samurai enthusiasts's dream and fantasy by bringing the truth.
H. Hoshino / Happy Day in San Francisco, California
