[:it]

Maeda Keiji

Photo credit: wikipedia.org

Maeda Toshimasu, (1543-1612) conosciuto come Maeda Keiji o Keijiro, era un Samurai Giapponese del periodo Sengoku (1467-1568).

Nato a Nagoya, era figlio di Takigawa Kazumasu, adottato poi da Maeda Toshihisa fratello di Maeda Toshiie. Servì sotto Oda Nobunaga assieme a suo zio, e inizialmente doveva essere lui l’erede del clan Maeda. Nobunaga spostò però il diritto di successione da Toshihisa a Toshiie, e Toshimasu perse la sua posizione. A quel punto, cominciarono i dissapori tra lui lo zio Toshiie, si dice infatti che litigassero spesso.

Nel 1581 si fece una reputazione sotto il comando dello zio in un conflitto nella Provincia di Noto. Mentre, durante la Battaglia di Komaki-Nagakute, tre anni dopo, Toshimasu andò a salvare Sassa Narimasa quando fu attaccato al Castello di Suemori.

A Kyoto incontrò Naoe Kanetsugu il karō (samurai e consiglieri di alto livello al servizio dei daimyō) di Uesugi Kagekatsu. I due divennerò molto amici e Toshimasu si unì al clan Uesugi nell’invasione di Aizu. L’invasione ebbe esito negativo, e Keiji guidò la retroguardia durante la ritirata. Nella battaglia riuscì comunque a dare una splendida dimostrazione di forza cavalcando sul suo inseparabile cavallo Matsukaze, ‘vento tra i pini’, mentre brandiva la sua lancia. Grazie a Keiji, le forze di Uesugi furono in grado di ritirarsi intatte, mentre il samurai ritornò alla capitale dedicandosi all’arte e alla letteratura.

Fu successivamente cacciato dalla campagna di Kyushu di Toyotomi Hideyoshi per i suoi modi selvaggi. Quando però Tokugawa Ieyasu sfidò nuovamente gli Uesugi nel 1600, Keiji lottò ancora con loro.

Nella battaglia contro i Mogami la leggenda narra che riuscì a rompere le linee nemiche con solo otto cavalieri, e a distruggere la loro formazione.

Dopo che il clan Uesugi si fu ritirato nel dominio di Yonezawa, Toshimasu rimase con loro.

Secondo la leggenda, alla morte di Keiji il suo cavallo Matsukage, che condivideva con il padrone la stessa personalità indomabile, scappò via per non essere mai più ritrovato. Era un esemplare magnifico che nessuno a parte Keiji era stato in grado di domare, e tanto possente da sopportare il peso del padrone che si diceva fosse imponente.

E’ invece ancora possibile vedere l’armatura di Keiji al Museo Miyasaka.

Photo credit: wikipedia.org

Keiji il Magnifico – Hana no Keiji

Photo credit: vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net

Il personaggio di Keiji Maeda fu così caratteristico e così eccentrico da essere scelto come protagonista di una serie di manga, Keiji il Magnifico (花の慶次 – Hana no Keiji). L’opera è raccontata da Keichiro Ryu e disegnata da Tetsuo Hara, meglio conosciuto come il disegnatore di Ken il guerriero.

Photo credit: Google images

Il manga racconta le avventure del più grande kabukimono mai esistito in Giappone. Il kabukimono è una persona eccentrica che ama distinguersi dagli altri nel modo di comportarsi e nell’aspetto, col fine ultimo di imporre la propria volontà sugli altri.

Keiji è figlio di Takigawa Masuuji e di una delle sue concubine. All’epoca la famiglia Maeda era in rapporti di vassallaggio con i Takigawa e durante un ricevimento Maeda Toshihisa incontra la ragazza e chiede ai Takigawa il permesso di sposarla. La prima notte di nozze la sposa confessa di essere già incinta del suo precedente signore. Ma invece di ucciderla (consuetudine in un’epoca in cui l’onore e il sangue nobile erano fondamentali) Toshihisa adotta il bambino. Così, alla sua nascita Keiji (il cui nome completo è Keijiro Toshimasu Maeda) diventa ufficialmente figlio di Toshihisa e quindi nipote di Maeda Toshiie, uno dei più ricchi feudatari giapponesi dell’epoca Sengoku. In questo periodo si svolgono grandi battaglie per decidere chi dominerà il Giappone dopo Oda Nobunaga. Keiji, cresciuto sui campi di battaglia e dotato di grande forza, partecipa a molti di questi eventi.

Photo credit: ayakashi-ghost-guild.wikia.com

Il suo è un personaggio dai forti senso dell’onore e personalità, e segue il principio base dell’essere kabukimono fino in fondo. Pertanto, Keiji cerca di imporre sempre la propria volontà, consapevole che ciò significa essere liberi non solo di agire a proprio piacimento, ma anche di essere uccisi “come un cane”.

In eterna lotta con lo zio, che più volte cerca di farlo uccidere, Keiji rimane nel clan e quindi sotto l’autorità dello zio stesso solo fino alla morte di Toshihisa. Poi inizierà a comportarsi in modo tale da venir cacciato dal clan. Ciò salverà l’onore del clan stesso, in quanto un samurai che abbandona volontariamente il proprio padrone lo disonora.

I personaggi

Vari personaggi di finzione accompagnano Keiji nei suoi viaggi e avventure.

Nel primo capitolo del manga Keiji incontra e si lega al cavallo “diabolico” Matsukase, (copia di Re Nero, il cavallo di Raoul – Ken il guerriero) . E’ un animale più grande del consueto e pertanto capace di sopportare il peso di Keiji, ma che nessun altro riesce a cavalcare. Da allora i due sono inseparabili.

Photo credit: Google Images

Per un certo periodo Keiji è accompagnato dalla piccola Ofu. Incontra la ragazzina quando si trova a confrontarsi con un esperto di arti marziali di nome Gankibo. Ofu lo deve seguire portando sulla testa un secchio in cui raccoglie le orecchie dei nemici morti. Gli spiriti dei caduti la tormentano e quando Keiji sconfigge Gankibo libera Ofu dal suo compito, dando anche pace agli spiriti. Ofu in realtà ha 14 o 15 anni, ma sembra una bambina perché ha deciso di non crescere.

Il piccolo shinobi Sutemaru è il primo vassallo che si mette al servizio di Keiji. All’inizio Sutemaru fa parte della truppa di ninja di Kaga, al servizio di Maeda Toshiie, e vuole uccidere Keiji e Matsukase (il cavallo che ha travolto e ucciso suo fratello). Presto tuttavia Sutemaru decide di abbandonare la truppa dei ninja e di rimanere con Keiji, che serve fedelmente nella speranza, di riuscire a ucciderlo. Sutemaru combatte con armi da taglio, kunai e esplosivi, oltre a fare spesso da esploratore per Keiji. Peculiari del personaggio sono il fatto di canticchiare sempre quando combatte e di non riuscire a mentire perché ogni volta gli occhi gli diventano strabici.

L’ultimo personaggio importante è Lisa, una giovane donna bellissima e dai capelli biondi. Suo padre Yoshiro è figlio di Sen no Rikyu e di una donna occidentale, portata come schiava su una nave pirata europea che si scontrerà con i mercanti di Sakai. Yoshiro conoscerà Keiji e gli mostrerà un ritratto di sua figlia. Il kabukimono si innamorerà perdutamente della ragazza, contesa però anche dal pirata spagnolo Carlos e dal re di Ryukyu (oggi Okinawa, isola principale dell’arcipelago Ryukyu).

Invece tra i personaggi storici incontrati da Keiji vi sono sicuramente suo zio Toshiie Maeda (noto anche come Mataza il lanciere), il kanpaku (reggente dell’Imperatore) Hideyoshi Toyotomi, e Tokugawa Ieyasu suo successore; ma anche Nobunaga Oda, ex padrone di Hideyoshi e Ieyasu, e Hattori Hanzo, capo dei ninja di Iga al servizio di Ieyasu; incontrerà anche il già citato maestro di cerimonie Sen no Rikyu, e il comandante militare della regione Yamashiro (dove si trovava la capitale del tempo, Kyoto) Kanetsugu Naoe; e ancora, il signore di Kanetsugu, Kagekatsu Uesugi, nipote e successore del noto daimyo Uesugi Kenshin; Mitsunari Ishida, favorito di Hideyoshi e cugino di Kanetsugu Naoe, e Date Masamune, daimyo delle terre settentrionali del Paese.

Dopo la battaglia di Sekigahara, nella quale Mitsunari Ishida e Ieyasu Tokugawa si giocano il controllo del paese, Keiji si trova dalla parte perdente. In realtà si è schierato e registrato come vassallo di Kanetsugu Naoe per aiutare il clan Uesugi. Ieyasu aveva provocato gli Uesugi per cercare una guerra al solo scopo di far muovere Mitsunari e farlo scoprire. Keiji decide quindi di incontrare Ieyasu come ambasciatore degli Uesugi. Si rade a zero i lunghi capelli come un bonzo e rinuncia al compenso cui ha diritto come samurai del clan. Fatta la pace, si tiene fuori dalla scena finché Kanetsugu non gli chiede di andare con lui nel suo feudo, proposta che Keiji accetta. La mattina successiva, regala il denaro rimastogli e mette in piedi una festa improvvisata. I balloon ci raccontano che si trasferirà con Lisa presso il clan Naoe e smetterà di essere un kabukimono.

Morirà circa 12 anni dopo, sotto il regno di Tadakatsu Uesugi, erede di Kagekatsu.

Photo Credit:truyentranhpro.com

Sengoku Basara

Sengoku Basara (戦国BASARA) è un anime diviso in due serie, tratto dal videogioco Devil Kings della Capcom, e composta ciascuna da tredici episodi. Dal videogioco è stato tratto anche un manga diviso in tre volumi denominato Sengoku Basara Ranse Renbu. Creato da Kairi Shimonotsuki e pubblicato dalla casa editrice Udon Entertainment, il manga è pubblicato in Italia dalla J-Pop. Le due stagioni dell’anime sono state invece acquistate da Yamato Video che lo ha annunciato via Facebook, e fa parte del “Secret Project” dell’editore milanese. La serie è in fase di trasmissione sul nuovo canale youtube della Yamato a partire dal 30 ottobre 2013.

Il 4 giugno 2011 in Giappone è uscito il lungometraggio cinematografico intitolato Sengoku Basara: The Last Party.

L’anno successivo è andato invece in onda un adattamento live action dal titolo Sengoku Basara : Moonlight party, trasmesso dal 12 luglio al 20 settembre 2012.

Due anni dopo, nel 2014, è stata poi trasmessa la terza serie televisiva: Sengoku Basara: Judge End, ispirata alle vicende del capitolo Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes del videogame.

Personalmente credo che il personaggio di Keiji sia molto interessante e soprattutto che abbia bisogno di essere conosciuto più approfonditamente. Il suo carattere si distingue dagli altri, riesce ad andare contro la serietà che caratterizzava il personaggio del Samurai. Lo sento molto vicino come anima instabile ed eccentrica, sempre alla ricerca di qualcosa che non riesce ad ottenere, ma che probabilmente ha già in mano. Il suo rompere gli schemi, tanto da renderlo in grado di fare scherzi ai suoi parenti, di fregarsene dell’etichetta e del suo essere. Ma anche il suo sentirsi un bambino in un corpo troppo grande, soprattutto per l’epoca, e il suo essere diverso, lo rende una persona da conoscere e da amare.

Photo credit: www.Tumbr.com

Il suo amore per Lisa, è poi stata una delle prime volte in cui si è affrontato il rapporto oriente-occidente. Un Samurai che si innamora di un’Europea era all’epoca una sorta di scandalo ed assolutamente qualcosa di inusuale. Bellissima storia tra i due, che continua a far parlare e ad essere fonte di ispirazione per fumetti e videogames.

“Ognuno è debole e fa affidamento sugli altri. Mentre ci tendiamo l’uno verso l’altro, mentre diventiamo amici o combattiamo, il legame che creiamo da forma al nostro futuro. “

Keiji Maeda – Sengoku BASARA

Photo credit: Google Images

[:en]

Maeda Keiji

Photo credit: wikipedia.org

Maeda Toshimasu, (1543-1612) also known as Maeda Keiji or Keijiro, was a Japanese samurai who lived in the Sengoku Period (1467-1568).

Born in Nagoya, he was the son of Takigawa Kazumasu, who was later adopted by his uncle Maeda Toshihisa, brother of Maeda Toshiie. He served under Oda Nobunaga with his uncle and was initially the heir of the clan. However, Nobunaga replaced Toshihisa with Toshiie as head of the Maeda family, and Toshimasa lost this position. At that point, the disagreements between him and his uncle Toshiie began, and it is said that they often quarrelled.

In 1581, he made a reputation for himself under his uncle’s command in a conflict in the Province of Noto. During the Battle of Komaki-Nagakute, three years later, Toshimasu saved Sassa Narimasa when he was attacked at the Castle of Suemori.

In Kyoto, he met Naoe Kanetsugu the karō (samurai and senior advisors at a daimyō service) of Uesugi Kagekatsu. The two of them became friends and Toshimasu joined the Uesugi clan in the invasion of Aizu. The invasion failed, and Keiji led the rearguard during the retreat.

In the battle, however, he was able to give a splendid show of force riding on his inseparable horse Matsukaze, ‘the wind among the pines’, while brandishing his spear. Due to Keiji’s actions, the Uesugi’s forces were able to retreat intact, while the samurai returned to the capital devoting himself to art and literature.

He was later barred from Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s campaign in Kyushu for his wild behaviour. But when Tokugawa Ieyasu challenged the Uesugi clan in 1600, Keiji once again fought with them.

In the battle against the Mogami, legend says that he succeeded in breaking the enemy lines with only eight riders, shattering their formation.
After the Uesugi clan retired in the Yonezawa Domain, Toshimasu remained with them.

According to the legend, after Keiji’s death, his horse Matsukage, that shared with his master the same indomitable personality, ran away never to be found again. It was a magnificent horse that no one else but Keiji had been able to tame, and so powerful to carry his master’s large frame.

It is still possible to see Keiji’s armour at the Miyasaka Museum.

Photo credit: wikipedia.org

Keiji – Hana no Keiji

Photo credit: vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net

The character of Keiji Maeda was so characteristic and so eccentric that he was chosen as the protagonist of a series of manga, Keiji ( 花の慶次 – Hana no Keiji). The story is written by Keichiro Ryu and drawn by Tetsuo Hara, better known for his other work, Fist of the North Star.

Photo credit: Google images

The manga tells the adventures of the greatest kabukimono that ever existed in Japan. A kabukimono is an eccentric person who loves to stand out from others for his behaviour and his appearance, and who has the ultimate goal of imposing his will on others.

Keiji is the son of Takigawa Masuuji and one of his concubines. At that time, the Maeda family was a vassal of the Takigawa clan, and during a reception, Maeda Toshihisa met the girl and asked Takigawa for permission to marry her. On the wedding night, the bride confesses she is already pregnant with her former lord. But instead of killing her (as it was customary in an era where honour and noble blood were fundamental) Toshihisa adopted the child.

Thus, at his birth Keiji (whose full name is Keijiro Toshimasu Maeda) officially became Toshihisa’s son and so nephew of Maeda Toshiie, one of the richest Japanese feudal lords of the Sengoku era. During this time, great battles take place in order to decide who will rule Japan after Oda Nobunaga. Keiji, raised on battlefields and gifted with great strength, participates in many of these events.

Photo credit: ayakashi-ghost-guild.wikia.com

His character has a strong sense of honour and personality that follows the basic principle of being a kabukimono to the fullest. Therefore, Keiji seeks to always impose his own will, aware that this means being free to act as he pleases, but also to be killed “like a dog”.

Despite the eternal struggle with his uncle, who tried to kill him repeatedly, Keiji remained in the clan and so under his uncle’s authority until Toshihisa’s death. It was after that when he began to behave in such a way that got him expelled from the clan. This will save the honour of the clan itself since a samurai who voluntarily abandons his master dishonours him.

The Characters

Various fictional characters accompany Keiji in his travels and adventures.

In the first chapter of the manga, Keiji meets and binds with the “diabolic” horse Matsukase, “wind in the pines” (a copy of Black King, horse of Raoh – Fist of the North Star). It is an unusually big animal and therefore able to endure Keiji’s weight, but no one else can ride it. Since then, the two of them are inseparable.

Photo credit: Google Images

For a time Keiji was accompanied by little Ofu. He meets the girl when he was challenged by the martial arts expert named Gankibo. Ofu had to follow him carrying a bucket on his head where he gathers the ears of dead enemies. The spirits of the fallen torment her and when Keiji defeats Gankibo he frees Ofu from her task, giving peace to the spirits as well. Ofu was actually 14 or 15 years old but looks like a little girl because she has decided not to grow.

The little shinobi Sutemaru is the first vassal to serve Keiji. At first, Sutemaru is part of Kaga’s ninja clan serving Maeda Toshiie, and wants to kill Keiji and Matsukase (the horse who trampled and killed his brother). But soon Sutemaru decides to abandon the ninja clan to stay with Keiji, who he faithfully serves in hope of succeeding in killing him. Sutemaru fights with edged weapons, kunai and explosive weapons, as well as being often an explorer for Keiji. Peculiar of his character is the fact that he always hums when he fights and cannot lie because each time he does, his eyes become strabic.

The last important character is Lisa, a beautiful young woman with blond hair. Her father, Yoshiro, is the son of Sen no Rikyu and a Western woman, carried as a slave on a European pirate ship that will clash with Sakai merchants. Yoshiro will meet Keiji and show him a portrait of her daughter. The kabukimono will fall in love with the girl, who is desired by the Spanish pirate Carlos and the king of Ryukyu (now Okinawa, the main island of the Ryukyu archipelago) as well.

Instead, among the historical figures met by Keiji, there surely is his uncle Toshiie Maeda (also known as Mataza the lancer), the kanpaku (Emperor Regent) Hideyoshi Toyotomi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu his successor; but also Nobunaga Oda, former master of Hideyoshi and Ieyasu, and Hattori Hanzo, chief of Iga’s ninjas at Ieyasu’s service. He will also meet the aforementioned master of ceremonies Sen no Rikyu, and the military commander of Yamashiro region (where the capital of the time was, Kyoto) Kanetsugu Naoe. Also, the Lord of Kanetsugu, Kagekatsu Uesugi, nephew and successor of the famous daimyo Uesugi Kenshin; Mitsunari Ishida, Hideyoshi’s favourite and Kanetsugu Naoe’s cousin, and Date Masamune, daimyo of northern lands of the country.

After Sekigahara’s Battle, where Mitsunari Ishida and Ieyasu Tokugawa are fighting for the control of the country, Keiji happens to find himself on the losing side. He was actually deployed and enlisted as Kanetsugu Naoe’s vassal to help the Uesugi clan. Ieyasu had provoked the Uesugis to seek war for the sole purpose of making Mitsunari move and expose himself. Keiji then decides to meet Ieyasu as an ambassador of the Uesugi clan. He shaves his long hair like a bonzo and gives up the compensation he is entitled to receive as a samurai of the clan. After peace was made, he decides to stay out of the scene until Kanetsugu asks him to go with him in his feud, request that Keiji accepts. The next morning, he gives up all his money and sets up an improvised party. The balloons tell us that he will move with Lisa in Nao’s clan and cease to be a kabukimono.

He will die about 12 years later, under the reign of Tadakatsu Uesugi, heir of Kagekatsu.

Photo Credit:truyentranhpro.com

Sengoku Basara

Sengoku Basara (戦 国 BASARA) is an anime divided into two series, based on the Devil Kings, a video game series released by Capcom, each consisting of thirteen episodes. A three-volume manga called Sengoku Basara Ranse Renbu is also based on the video game. The manga, created by Kairi Shimonotsuki and published by Udon Entertainment, is published in Italy by J-Pop. Instead, the two seasons of the anime were purchased by Yamato Video that announced it via Facebook and is part of the “Secret Project” of the Milanese publisher. The series is being broadcast on the new Yamato youtube channel from October 30, 2013.

On June 4, 2011, the feature film Sengoku Basara: The Last Party was released in Japan.

The following year, a live-action adaptation, Sengoku Basara: Moonlight Party was aired from 12 July to 20 September 2012.

Two years later, in 2014, the third television series, Sengoku Basara: Judge End, that inspired to the story of Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes of the video game, was aired.

Personally, I think that Keiji’s character is very interesting, and above all, I think he needs to be more thoroughly comprehended. His personality differs from the others, and he is able to go against the seriousness characterizing the Samurai figure. I feel very close to him as an unstable and eccentric soul, always looking for something he can’t get but that is probably in his hands already. His way of breaking the schemes going as far as playing tricks on his relatives, the fact that he doesn’t care about etiquette and who he is. As well as his feeling a child in a body that is too big, especially for the time, and his being different, makes him a person that needs to be discovered and loved.

Photo credit: www.Tumbr.com

And there is also his love for Lisa that was one of the first times in which the East-West relationship was showed. A samurai who fell in love with a European woman was at that time a sort of scandal and something absolutely unusual. A beautiful story between the two, which continues to be a source of inspiration for other comics and video games.

“Everyone is weak and relies on others. As we reach out to each other, as we become friends or fight, the bond we form creates our tomorrow. “

Keiji Maeda – Sengoku Basara

Photo credit: Google Images

[:ja]

Maeda Keiji

Photo credit: wikipedia.org

Maeda Toshimasu, (1543-1612) also known as Maeda Keiji or Keijiro, was a Japanese samurai who lived in the Sengoku Period (1467-1568).

Born in Nagoya, he was the son of Takigawa Kazumasu, later adopted by his uncle Maeda Toshihisa brother of Maeda Toshiie. He served under Oda Nobunaga with his uncle, and initially he was the heir of the clan. However, Nobunaga replaced Toshihisa with Toshiie as head of the Maeda family, and Toshimasa lost this position. At that point, the disagreements between him and his uncle Toshiie began, and it is said that they often quarreled.

In 1581 he made a reputation for himself under his uncle’s command in a conflict in the Province of Noto. While, during the Battle of Komaki-Nagakute, three years later, Toshimasu saved Sassa Narimasa when he was attacked at the Castle of Suemori.

In Kyoto he met Naoe Kanetsugu the karō (samurai and senior advisors at a daimyō service) of Uesugi Kagekatsu. The two of them became friends and Toshimasu joined the Uesugi clan in the invasion of Aizu. The invasion failed, and Keiji led the rearguard during the retreat.

In the battle, however, he was able to give a splendid show of force riding on his inseparable horse Matsukaze, ‘the wind among the pines’, while brandishing his spear. Due to Keiji’s actions the Uesugi’s forces were able to retreat intact, while the samurai returned to the capital devoting himself to art and literature.

He was later barred from Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s campaign in Kyushu for his wild behaviors. But when Tokugawa Ieyasu challenged the Uesugi clan in 1600, Keiji once again fought with them.

In the battle against the Mogami, legend says that he succeeded in breaking the enemy lines with only eight riders, shattering their formation.
After the Uesugi clan retired in the Yonezawa Domain, Toshimasu remained with them.

According to the legend, after Keiji’s death his horse Matsukage, that shared with his master the same indomitable personality, ran away never to be found again. It was a magnificent horse that no one else but Keiji had been able to tame, and so powerful to carry his master’s large frame.

It is still possible to see Keiji’s armor at the Miyasaka Museum.

Photo credit: wikipedia.org

Keiji – Hana no Keiji

Photo credit: vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net

The character of Keiji Maeda was so characteristic and so eccentric that he was chosen as the protagonist of a series of manga, Keiji ( 花の慶次 – Hana no Keiji). The story is written by Keichiro Ryu and drawn by Tetsuo Hara, better known for his Fist of the North Star.

Photo credit: Google images

The manga tells the adventures of the greatest kabukimono that ever existed in Japan. A kabukimono is an eccentric person who loves to stand out from others for his behaviors and his appearance, and who has the ultimate goal of imposing his will on others.

Keiji is the son of Takigawa Masuuji and one of his concubines. At that time, the Maeda family was a vassal of the Takigawa clan, and during a reception Maeda Toshihisa met the girl and asked the Takigawa permission to marry her. On the wedding night the bride confesses she is already pregnant with her former lord. But instead of killing her (as it was customary in an era where honor and noble blood were fundamental) Toshihisa adopted the child.

Thus, at his birth Keiji (whose full name is Keijiro Toshimasu Maeda) officially became Toshihisa’s son and so nephew of Maeda Toshiie, one of the richest Japanese feudal lords of the Sengoku era. During this time, great battles take place in order to decide who will rule Japan after Oda Nobunaga. Keiji, raised on battlefields and gifted with great strength, participates in many of these events.

Photo credit: ayakashi-ghost-guild.wikia.com

His character have strong sense of honor and personality, and follows the basic principle of being a kabukimono to the fullest. Therefore, Keiji seeks to always impose his own will, aware that this means being free to act as he pleases, but also to be killed “like a dog”.

In an eternal struggle with his uncle, who repeatedly tries to kill him, Keiji remains in the clan and so under his uncle’s authority until Toshihisa’s death. Then he will begin to behave in such a way as to be expelled from the clan. This will save the honor of the clan itself, since a samurai who voluntarily abandons his master dishonors him.

The Characters

Various fictional characters accompany Keiji in his travels and adventures.

In the first chapter of the manga, Keiji meets and binds with the “diabolic” horse Matsukase, “wind in the pines” (a copy of Black King, horse of Raoh – Fist of the North Star). It is an unusually big animal and therefore able to endure Keiji’s weight, but no one else can ride it. Since then, the two of them are inseparable.

Photo credit: Google Images

For a time Keiji is accompanied by little Ofu. He meets the girl when he is challenged by the martial arts expert named Gankibo. Ofu has to follow him carrying a bucket on his head where he gathers the ears of dead enemies. The spirits of the fallen torment her and when Keiji defeats Gankibo he frees Ofu from her task, giving peace to the spirits as well. Ofu actually has 14 or 15 years, but looks like a little girl because she has decided not to grow.

The little shinobi Sutemaru is the first vassal to serve Keiji. At first, Sutemaru is part of Kaga’s ninja clan serving Maeda Toshiie, and wants to kill Keiji and Matsukase (the horse who trampled and killed his brother). But soon Sutemaru decides to abandon the ninja’s clan to stay with Keiji, who he faithfully serves in hope of succeeding in killing him. Sutemaru fights with edged weapons, kunai and explosive weapons, as well as being often an explorer for Keiji. Peculiar of his character is the fact that he always hums when he fights and cannot lie because each time he does, his eyes become strabic.

The last important character is Lisa, a beautiful young woman with blond hair. Her father, Yoshiro, is the son of Sen no Rikyu and a Western woman, carried as a slave on a European pirate ship that will clash with Sakai merchants. Yoshiro will meet Keiji and show him a portrait of her daughter. The kabukimono will fall in love with the girl, that is desired by the Spanish pirate Carlos and the king of Ryukyu (now Okinawa, the main island of the Ryukyu archipelago) as well.

Instead, among the historical figures met by Keiji, there surely is his uncle Toshiie Maeda (also known as Mataza the lancer), the kanpaku (Emperor Regent) Hideyoshi Toyotomi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu his successor; but also Nobunaga Oda, former master of Hideyoshi and Ieyasu, and Hattori Hanzo, chief of Iga’s ninjas at Ieyasu’s service. He will also meet the aforementioned master of ceremonies Sen no Rikyu, and the military commander of Yamashiro region (where the capital of the time was, Kyoto) Kanetsugu Naoe. Also, the Lord of Kanetsugu, Kagekatsu Uesugi, nephew and successor of the famous daimyo Uesugi Kenshin; Mitsunari Ishida, Hideyoshi’s favorite and Kanetsugu Naoe’s cousin, and Date Masamune, daimyo of northern lands of the country.

After Sekigahara’s Battle, where Mitsunari Ishida and Ieyasu Tokugawa are fighting for the control of the country, Keiji happens to find himself on the losing side. He actually deployed and enlisted as Kanetsugu Naoe’s vassal to help the Uesugi clan. Ieyasu had provoked the Uesugis to seek war for the sole purpose of making Mitsunari move and expose himself. Keiji then decides to meet Ieyasu as ambassador of the Uesugi clan. He shaves his long hair like a bonzo and gives up the compensation he is entitled to receive as a samurai of the clan. After peace was made, he decides to stays out of the scene until Kanetsugu asks him to go with him in his feud, request that Keiji accepts. The next morning, he gives up all his money and sets up an improvised party. The balloons tells us that he will move with Lisa in Nao’s clan and cease to be a kabukimono.

He will die about 12 years later, under the reign of Tadakatsu Uesugi, heir of Kagekatsu.

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Sengoku Basara

Sengoku Basara (戦 国 BASARA) is an anime divided into two series, based on the Devil Kings, a video game series released by Capcom, each consisting of thirteen episodes. A three-volume manga called Sengoku Basara Ranse Renbu is also based on the videogame. The manga, created by Kairi Shimonotsuki and published by Udon Entertainment, is published in Italy by J-Pop. Instead, the two seasons of the anime were purchased by Yamato Video that announced it via Facebook, and is part of the “Secret Project” of the Milanese publisher. The series is being broadcast on the new Yamato youtube channel from October 30, 2013.

On June 4, 2011, the feature film Sengoku Basara: The Last Party was released in Japan.

The following year, a live action adaptation, Sengoku Basara: Moonlight Party was aired from 12 July to 20 September, 2012.

Two years later, in 2014, was aired the third television series, Sengoku Basara: Judge End that was inspired to the story of Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes of the video game.

Personally, I think that Keiji’s character is very interesting, and above all I think he needs to be more thoroughly comprehended. His personality differs from the others, and he is able to go against the seriousness characterizing the Samurai figure. I feel very close to him as an unstable and eccentric soul, always looking for something he can’t get but that is probably in his hands already. His way of breaking the schemes going has far as playing tricks on his relatives, the fact that he doesn’t care about etiquette and who he is. As well as his feeling a child in a body that is too big, especially for the time, and his being different, makes him a person that needs to be discovered and loved.

Photo credit: www.Tumbr.com

And there is also his love for Lisa that was one of the first times in which the East-West relationship was showed. A samurai who fell in love with a European woman was at that time a sort of scandal and something absolutely unusual. Beautiful story between the two, which continues to be a source of inspiration for other comics and video games.

“Everyone is weak and relies on others. As we reach out to each other, as we become friends or fight, the bond we form creates our tomorrow. “

Keiji Maeda – Sengoku Basara

Photo credit: Google Images

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