Japan History: Maeda Keiji
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
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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.
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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.
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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 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.
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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
Japanese Culture: Geisha & Maiko
Maiko and Geisha: Dancing Artists
photo credit: metmuseum.org
The most representative and mysterious artistic figure of the 'Country of the rising sun' is the Geisha (芸者 "Person who embodies art").
She is often confused with the Maiko (舞妓 "Dancing girl") that is the apprentice and aspiring geisha. To become a geisha is required a long period of apprenticeship in dedicated schools. Here girls learn how to dance, sing and the use of the Shamisen (三味線 "Three strings" typical musical instrument). Regarding the skills of entertaining costumers, the maiko learns everything following a geisha around the many tea houses. The relationship between maiko and geisha is like a real ‘Sisterhood’. The two of them respectively call each other imoto-san or “younger sister”, and onee-san “big sister". The bound between them is so strong that the stage name of the future geisha is chosen by her big sister, and the maiko will carry that name for all her artistic career.
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The bright colors of their kimonos will become darker as the geisha becomes older. The Nihongami, the typical hair-style of the Edo period, is very intricate and difficult both to realize and to maintain. It is usually embellished with the Kanzashi, decorative hair ornaments that would vary depending on the season (for example flowers in spring, doves for the New Year). The kanzashi too will become simpler over time, and the excessive make-up, with its typical small carmine lips standing out on a snow-white face, will be substituted with a different one for a more natural effect.
The little habit of exposing the neck (in the Japanese culture the neck is the most sensual part of a woman) will add another painted white line to the two lines previously used.
In the past the daughters of geishas would start on this path at a young age. Nowadays it is more common to start the apprenticeship after completing university studies. Nevertheless, this is a career started out of their free will and not in order to continue a family tradition. It must be said that this community made of women, with their strict traditions and strong moral ethics, is determined to keep its centuries-old secret.
“The art of being a woman”
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Usually, in the common imagery, geishas are women full of charm but submissive, devoted to their man and their every little whim. However this is a mistake since in the past they were the first women in the Japanese society with full autonomy.
Everything started from the Taikomochis (太鼓持), jesters that entertained the Shōgun (将軍 "commander of the army") and his Daimyō (大名) the nobility, with acrobatic exercises and jokes.
In spite of the Taikomochis being really appreciated for their carefree spirit, this figure came to slowly disappear with the appearance of the first geishas. Obviously the created a sensation and they were soon preferred to taikomochis for their sensual movements and feminine gracefulness.
But these women were not courtesans nor prostitutes. Prostitutes were identified as Oirans (花魁). Geishas were artists highly requested. Theirs skills included dancing, singing and music in general. They also had to be good conversationalist and entertainer. They would perform their profession in the Okiya (置屋) or “Geisha houses” in Kyoto, the capital of the Empire at that time. During the second half of ‘800 the isolation of Japan, that had lasted for about two-hundred years, came to an end. This was the exact moment when Europe came in contact with a new exotic harbor.
With this, the whole world came to know the figure of the geisha and her charm. And they would influence the occidental style and costumes too. Puccini composed the moving Madame Butterfly, and in the field of the pictorial arts they became muses for well-know painter of the time. Manet, Monet, Klimt, Renoir and Van Gogh are just some of the artists that tried to take their inspiration from this so-called Nipponism. This artistic movement was a tribute to the art of the Ukiyo-e (浮世絵 "picture of the floating world). And not only this, we find geishas in the prints of Katsushika Hokusa (The Great Wave off Kanagawa) and Kitagawa Utamaro. Utamaro in particular became famous for his prints dedicated to women. The more this artistic movement grew in Japan, the more the ukiyo-e prints became famous all over the world too, and the demand for it equally increased.
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“Wives of nightfall”
During the Second World War with the arrival of American soldiers the figure of the geisha was distorted. They were given the role of prostitutes because the young girls comforting the soldiers were called “geisha girls”. This produced an anti-feminist and erroneous idea of this women.
It was really difficult for the geishas to focus on love because of the strict rules required in this profession. They could have as sole companion their Danna (旦那). In Japanese “danna” means master and he was the closest thing to a husband for them. He would take care of his protege financially supporting her performances, and sometimes extinguishing the debt that she had with the okiya for her instruction. Usually it was the danna that would chose his geisha, not the contrary. Nevertheless it was not rare for them to fall in love.
Luckily times have changed. Today geishas can freely fall in love with the person they want, but obviously they will put an end to their activities after marriage. It is common for ex geishas to become dance teachers.
still from the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha"
The number of geishas is strongly decreasing and it is a profession kept alive mostly for touristic purpose. In fact, their audience is not made by men only, but women appreciate them too.
I would like here to report the marvelous words of Arthur Golden that with his best seller “Memories of a Geisha” created a beautiful picture of this figure. He allowed us to rediscover this parallel universe half-way between the past and the modernity.
“Geisha is an artist of the floating world. She dances. She sings. She entertains you. Whatever you want. The rest is shadows. The rest is secret.”
Japanese Traditions: Ōmisoka - New year's traditions
Japanese Traditions: Ōmisoka - New year
Shogatsu (or Oshogatsu) is the new year for the land of the Rising Sun.
In the Meiji period, this date was coinciding with the Chinese lunar calendar, but during the restoration of the same period, Japan changed to the Gregorian calendar too, fixing January 1st as the festive day we all know.
For the westerners it’s almost impossible to think to gather 365 days in just one moment. However, opening your eyes in front of the sight of the Hatsuhinode (the dawn of the first sun of the year) it is considered good luck and as the representation of the year that’s about to begin. However, every year, celebrations start on December 28th when all the preparations for new year begin. During the days of the Shougatsu Sanganichi, only the primary services are available, while Japanese people dedicate themselves to the Susuharai, cleaning of the whole house to get rid of all the negative traces of the past year. Kadomatsu (pine braches) and Shimenawa (straw rope with stripes of colored paper) are hanged on the doorsteps to keep the bad spirits away.
Japanese postal office are actively sending out and delivering cards for the best wishes that need to reach friends and families before new year’s day, the nengajou (年賀状).
Everything is ready to spend the time with the family and on December 31st, that's when the Ōmisoka begins (literally New year’s eve, the last day of the year).
Around 10:30pm the Joya no Kane, the tolls from the Tsurigane (bell of the temple), begins. They are very slow, because the first toll has to stop ringing before a second one is taken. They go on until midnight for a total of 108 tolls. They are said to be purifying for all those who listen so that it’s possible to face a new chapter of our lives.
Traditional foods
In this night it’s tradition to eat toshikoshi soba (年越しそば), noodles made with buckwheat, eggs and hot broth. The length of the noodles are auspice of a long life, their digestibility indicates the interior cleanliness and the ease in cutting them are a symbol of the removal of all bad things of the past.
The day after, the first visit to the temple takes place, the HATSUMOUDE (初詣). To pray for health for every family member and their happiness is the right spirit to face a new beginning. Furthermore, Japanese kids usually receive a small engraved envelope, bukuro (袋), containing some money (otoshidama, お年玉).
Family and festivities are connected together also thanks to the food. On the tables you can find theosechi-ryouri (お節料理), specialties coming from the tradition like the kombu (昆布) weed. The kamaboko (蒲鉾, fish cake), kurikinton (栗きんとん, mash potatoes with chestunts), kinpiragobo (金平牛蒡, burdock boiled roots). The most loved and well known Kuro-mame (黒豆, sweet black soy beans) and of course sushi and sashimi. Due to all these specialties, on the 7th day of January there’s the jinjitsu (人日), the day for “stomach rest”, when you only eat the the nanakusa-gayu (七草粥, the soup of the seven herbs made with rice).
If you ever had the chance to be in Japan during the Ōmisoka, tell us in the comments or on our facebook page! We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences.
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