Modern Day Daimyos?

[Icewind]

I was talking to a friend of mine who told me that she was trained in the use of a shinai. When she told me who her sensei was, I nearly fell out of my chair.

I know the guy's first name is Alex... think his last name is Morales. at any rate, he once claimed that he (having no japanese heritage) was made samurai by a modern daimyo in Japan! Not only that, but he is also able to teach kenjutsu!

When I knew Alex, he was one of the most violent and angst-ridden people online, and would often resort to heavy-handed and sometimes very unwise methods to get his way. Don't ever recall death threats or what not, but I remember him promising me that if we ever met, one of us would leave severely injured.

And this guy is teaching kenjutsu to people? ^^;

Not only that, but the friend I talked to referred to her method of dealing with people whom displeased her as "breaking their fingers".

My question to everyone is.... does anyone know if Japan still has any sort of system with any existing "daimyo"? I thought the Samurai caste was erradicated with the coming of the Meiji era and the modernization of Japan. I didn't think Japan had any daimyo's around.

Secondly, how can I help this friend find a better way than to practice the arts of this clearly insane "sensei".

[Saburo]

#1
Most of the great names that I know of that wield power over people in Japan these days are Toyota, Mitsubishi, and Honda. They use pens and keyboards more than swords to get their way. Unless there are Daimyo hiding in the hills who don't know the Sengoku jidai is over I'd say "Alex" is a mentalist.

#2
Assess how deeply the friend is into this Alex Sensei's group and proceed cautiously from there. Might get your fingers broken if you knock down the walls of a fantasy world the wrong way.

Let us know how you get on.

[Wounded Ronin]

Yeah, I've occasionally heard of Europeans claiming to be samurai and things like that. If I ever encounter one, I'll tell him that the emperor disbanded him back in the 1800s, and that he'd better do seppuku right now.

[Trevor Johnson]

Yeah, I've occasionally heard of Europeans claiming to be samurai and things like that. If I ever encounter one, I'll tell him that the emperor disbanded him back in the 1800s, and that he'd better do seppuku right now.

He might be following the 47 ronin path, going to kill all the scions of the Perry clan!

[Icewind]

#1
Most of the great names that I know of that wield power over people in Japan these days are Toyota, Mitsubishi, and Honda.

I must protest. You forgot the honorable Fujitsu, Toshiba, and NEC. And how could you possibly forget the benevolent Miyazaki-sensei, who is currently saving the Waruto Di-sunee Corporation from the erosion caused by the former CEO Michael "Your Soul is MINE" Eisner?

At any rate, I'm just not sure how to shatter the fantasy world without getting a 440 stainless steel (sharpened!) katana pointing at me. And considering that Alex loved Rurouni Kenshin ever so much, I'm sure that he taught her the super secret art of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu Final Attack Technique..."Flail-your-arms-and-pretend-to-strike".

[Saburo]

I guess it will all work out one way or the other then.

[gialiantpiddu]

What about SONY corp.? The ruler of them all! I'll go get my onimusha 3 katana controller and i'll go fight for my Daimyo! And hopefully i'll be rewarded with a PS3.
Cheers

[Kaoru]

I was talking to a friend of mine who told me that she was trained in the use of a shinai. When she told me who her sensei was, I nearly fell out of my chair.

I know the guy's first name is Alex... think his last name is Morales. at any rate, he once claimed that he (having no japanese heritage) was made samurai by a modern daimyo in Japan! Not only that, but he is also able to teach kenjutsu!

When I knew Alex, he was one of the most violent and angst-ridden people online, and would often resort to heavy-handed and sometimes very unwise methods to get his way. Don't ever recall death threats or what not, but I remember him promising me that if we ever met, one of us would leave severely injured.

And this guy is teaching kenjutsu to people? ^^;

Not only that, but the friend I talked to referred to her method of dealing with people whom displeased her as "breaking their fingers".

My question to everyone is.... does anyone know if Japan still has any sort of system with any existing "daimyo"? I thought the Samurai caste was erradicated with the coming of the Meiji era and the modernization of Japan. I didn't think Japan had any daimyo's around.

Secondly, how can I help this friend find a better way than to practice the arts of this clearly insane "sensei".

Is this person in Kansas? Or where? What is the dojo's name?

The guy needs to be in Baffling Budo.

He's clearly dangerous and should not be "teaching." I HATE it when people do this sort of thing!

The Samurai and Daimyo(Which means Lord, not Samurai.) were abolished as a class in 1876, along with the banning of swords in the same year, if I have my info right. Today, there are no Samurai. He's nuts if he thinks they still exist. Only a Japanese could be Samurai, with a rare exception. Only one Gaijin was made Samurai that I know of, and that was a couple hundred years ago. Darn, I forget his name. He's the person named "Blackthorn" in the miniseries, "Shogun" was based upon. A William something, was his name.

Your friend could be sued for breaking a person's fingers just because she got mad. That's not being a lady. That's being a jerk. Who would want to hang around a girl that behaved like that? She needs to be told this.

Kaoru

[Kaoru]

I must protest. You forgot the honorable Fujitsu, Toshiba, and NEC. And how could you possibly forget the benevolent Miyazaki-sensei, who is currently saving the Waruto Di-sunee Corporation from the erosion caused by the former CEO Michael "Your Soul is MINE" Eisner?

At any rate, I'm just not sure how to shatter the fantasy world without getting a 440 stainless steel (sharpened!) katana pointing at me. And considering that Alex loved Rurouni Kenshin ever so much, I'm sure that he taught her the super secret art of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu Final Attack Technique..."Flail-your-arms-and-pretend-to-strike".

Oh, you could let me have a go at her(Or him!).

[Icewind]

Well, I haevn't spoken to the "Daimyo-knighted Samurai" in some time. I stopped talking to him when his ego far surpassed by bandwidth.

But I did find his picture!
The King Himself

At any rate, I just hope that our Samurai friend is able to find peace within himself before he destroys his life. >.>

Anyway, found this piece of info for ya, Kaoru:

James Clavell's novel Shogun is the fictional tale of an English sailor, John Blackthorne, who is shipwrecked in Japan in 1600 and after many adventures becomes a samurai and nobleman. The book was a blockbuster bestseller and inspired one of the most successful miniseries in television history even though many of its fans did not realize it was based (at times very closely) on a true story. The "real" John Blackthorne was an Englishman named William Adams (1564-1620), a shipwrecked buccaneer who became a close friend and trusted advisor to the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (a samurai so bound by honor that as a young man he beheaded his wife and firstborn son to prove his loyalty to his lord).

I've read the book too, and own teh DVDs for the miniseries. Good stuff.

[Kaoru]

Well, I haevn't spoken to the "Daimyo-knighted Samurai" in some time. I stopped talking to him when his ego far surpassed by bandwidth.

But I did find his picture!
The King Himself

At any rate, I just hope that our Samurai friend is able to find peace within himself before he destroys his life. >.>

Anyway, found this piece of info for ya, Kaoru:

James Clavell's novel Shogun is the fictional tale of an English sailor, John Blackthorne, who is shipwrecked in Japan in 1600 and after many adventures becomes a samurai and nobleman. The book was a blockbuster bestseller and inspired one of the most successful miniseries in television history even though many of its fans did not realize it was based (at times very closely) on a true story. The "real" John Blackthorne was an Englishman named William Adams (1564-1620), a shipwrecked buccaneer who became a close friend and trusted advisor to the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (a samurai so bound by honor that as a young man he beheaded his wife and firstborn son to prove his loyalty to his lord).

I've read the book too, and own teh DVDs for the miniseries. Good stuff.

He looks... Like a wannabe. Oh well.

Ah, thank you. I just couldn't remember. I read the book and have the DVD's of the miniseries too. Haven't watched it for a long time though. Great stuff!! I just love the book!

[urbalte]

He might be following the 47 ronin path, going to kill all the scions of the Perry clan!

Crap! That's me! Ok, someone help me stash my USN ice cream man looking uniforms.......

[kung fu hustle]

I had a day dream at work that I was an uber-deadly secret ninja working for the CIA on secret missions. There was this one time where we fought off the islamic landing party and kept Al Qaeda from invading Florida. I had to go behind enemy lines to erradicate the enemy sentries with only my ninja sword.*

yeah, daydreams can be fun....