![]() ![]() “We didn’t exactly look to samurai when creating Kazuma Kiryu, but the strong belief of not succumbing to anyone is, in a way, a common trait with the samurai spirit.” According to Sakamoto, there was no deliberate influence but he definitely sees a connection through Kiryu’s moral conviction. After all, over the years he’s proven to be no stranger to a katana or even wearing a hakama on occasion. We asked Hiroyuki Sakamoto, Chief Producer of Like a Dragon: Ishin! and RGG Studio, if samurai fiction fed into the creation of Kazuma Kiryu. Hiroyuki Sakamoto on Kiryu, Samurai and Sakamoto Ryōma In Brutal Tales of Chivalry (1965), Ken Takakura struggles to uphold a pacifist oath against rival gangs threatening market traders in the ruins of post-war Kanto - culminating in a sword versus pistol duel. Despite their 1900s setting, these characters usually resolved disputes with exhilarating katana duels. The Ninkyo films converted the American lone gunman for Japanese audiences. It’s an influence which feels alive as ever when you see Ryōma Sakamoto in Ishin! fighting for notions of equality and industrialism with his katana and pistol in hand. He is a yakuza who inherited both the spirit of " toseinin" and " kyōkyaku" from the age of samurai.” In other words, it is modern Japan before the war, where new and old values collide. The origins of " Ninkyo Eiga" is from the Meiji era to the early Showa era (late 19th century to early 20th century). “ Ninkyo is the spirit of self-sacrifice, which is directed to defeat the strong and help the weak. Mori tells us how the ninkyo genre, including American influenced films like A Gambler’s Life (1963) about honorable outlaws, fused traditional and modern values. ![]() ![]() Internationally, Toei may be known for franchises like One Piece and Dragon Ball Z, but they made their name modernizing the kyōkyaku to play the starring role in a conveyor belt of ninkyo, or chilvalrous, movies. In this period - known as the Bakumatsu, when both the Tokugawa shogunate and 265 years of Japan’s isolation policy approach their end - disruptive behavior was celebrated for sticking it to the oppressive shogunate.Īnd the kyōkyaku was destined to return in another time of seismic change, namely post-war Japan. The popularity of these figures on the side of the common people rose in times of drastic change, so it’s no surprise it spiked in Ishin’s setting. As an ally of the socially vulnerable and orphans he is exactly in line with the tradition of heroic icons in period dramas and yakuza movies.” “The character Kazuma Kiryu is a modern, yet classic, 'heroic yakuza' descendant. It’s clear to Mori that Kiryu Kazuma shares a common, selfless heritage with kyōkyaku heroes. As much the Angel of Kamurocho as he is Dragon of Dojima, he’s a gruff, sensitive but ultimately willing friend to those in need, never passing a moment without bailing out film directors, overthrowing cults and helping countless relationships to blossom - all while navigating the simmering yakuza clan tensions and the day-to-day drama of running an orphanage. Kiryu constantly meddles in strangers’ lives for the better in hundreds of colorful side quests the series has become fondly known for. Even though he is a samurai, he does not belong to any organization, he is a wandering character who travels alone a kind-hearted outlaw full of loyalty and humanity, with the creed of destroying the strong and helping the weak.” A Diary of Chuji's Travels. “The heroic samurai image is a classic in Japanese fiction. Naoto Mori, a film critic from Kanagawa Prefecture who wrote the Japan Film Festival’s introduction to Yakuza movies, spoke to IGN about the samurai origins of kyōkyaku. Kyōkyaku were popular heroes in the Jidaigeki period dramas set in the same Edo period as Ishin! These films, set in early-modern Japan, depicted the gambling criminals who preceded the yakuza as outcast samurai with strong moral codes, often based on real Edo criminals in films like A Diary of Chuji's Travels (1927) or Jirocho Sangokushi (1965). But while they definitely share similarities, Kiryu would have been better cast as a kyōkyaku. Ishin! plays out in a similar fashion, letting Kazuma Kiryu loose on a highly embellished retelling of Japanese history. The figure was adapted on screen numerous times and had become so mythologized, anyone could see themselves in him, according to actor Masaharu Fukuyama who played Sakamoto in 2010. Sakamoto Ryōma was a low-ranked but formidable samurai who played an important role in toppling the Tokugawa Shogunate before his assassination aged 31. ![]()
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