Watching Fûrin Kazan
Okay, before my Blurayplayer started it’s week long stay at Nippon Connection. I watched about half of Fûrin Kazan and now it’s reaching the point where Uesugi Kenshin - or the man who is about to become Uesugi Kenshin - will paly a role. (So far I had two glimpses of him and he’s played by Gackt.)
“Fûrin Kazan”(風林火山) is a shortened strategy from the “Art of War” that means “quick as the wind, silent as the forest, fierce like fire and strong as a mountain” and was written on the war banners of Takeda Shingen.
The Dorama doesn’t exactly follow the book by Kazushi Inoue, that it's based on, but it focuses on the same character: Kansuke, a rônin and able strategist who will play a big part in making Shingen and his clan great. Kansuke was the main character of Inoue’s book and I have no idea if he is a historical figure or not. The TV series seems to pick up at an earlier date than the novel, because the series starts before Takeda Shingen, still called by his former name Harunobu, exiles his father and I seem to remember the father was exiled already in the book. Kansuke is an able strategist, who dreams about concerning castles and, as the story progresses, of uniting Japan’s mainland. He has a limp and wears an eye patch. Many people treat him like a cripple because of it.
Also this Kansuke seems to be younger than the novel character and he is given a more elaborate back story with a “wife” who is killed by Harunobus father: The first episodes are all about Kansuke and his complicated love story. The girl, Mitsu, falls in love with him when he rescues her. The have an affair, but he doesn’t want to stay and leaves in the hopes of being taken into service of the Imagawa Clan back home. The early episodes also show a little more about Kansukes family hisotry: He was adopted by a samurai family, who now doesn’t want him as a son anymore, because he has a son from his wife who can inherit and who they promote to be taken into the service of the clan instead of Kansuke.
Kansuke takes his old family name back and returns to the place of his birth, were his older brother is involved in a conspiracy.
In the end he returns to Mitsu, who now is pregnant and after she is threatened again, he suddenly finds he feels something for her and wants to have a family with her. He even begin to enjoy the life in the rural village. It’s not long after that, though, that Mitsu and her unborn child die by the father of Takeda Harunobu who is still leader of the clan at this point in tme. This further to strain the relationship between father and son and makes Kansuke try to get revenge with the help of the Imagawa, but is refued again. He then helps defend a castle against Takeda forces, but Harunobu returns after his father’s troops retreat and takes the castle in a surprise attack.
While Takedo Nobutora decides he should get rid of his son before he becomes too dangerous, Harunobu and Kansuke find themselves on the same site. A deal is made with the Imagawa Clan that will help Harunobu overthrow his father. Kansuke and Harunobu have a more complicated realtionship than they have in the novel because of all this, but Harunobu soon discoveres that he has found an able strategist in Kansuke and Kansuke starts to feel a deep admiration for the younger Takeda. Like in the book Kansuke tries to force the Takeda Clan to take him in as a retainer and in the end has to proof himself in a duel. He wins withoug fighting, showing his wisdom and superior strategy.
Meanwhile Harunobu’s second son loses his eyesight because of an illness and his superstitious wife thinks Kansuke, crippled as he is, has brought bad omen’s to her family. The actress playing the wife is playing her in a way that made me sypathisze and dislike her all at once.
The Uesugi Clan makes the first attempt to invade the land of the Takeda and the Suwa, related to the Takeda by marriage, make a pact with the new lords without consulting Harunobu and the stage is set for the quarrel between the two might clans that will go on for years.
The Takeda Clan, in trying to get back their land, overthrow the Suwa. Princess Yû of the Suwa, who hates Takeda Harunobu for killing her family, has to make a decision about becoming his concubine.
The actress playing her is actually pretty good and she plays both the thirst for revenge and her intelligence and ability for political intrigue very well.
It’s particularly enjoyable to watch her interactions with Takeda’s wife, Lady Sanjô. The lady, who has born her husband two sons already of whom the younger one turned out to be blind, already had established an unpleasant relationship with Kansuke and isn’t yet aware of Kansuke’s plans to make a possible heir born by the princess the true heir of the Takeda.
The relationship between the Princess, Takeda Harunobu and Kansuke is very interesting. Kansuke who is starting to have his own political schemes, also becomes the mediator between Lord and concubine. Yû - even after the marriage - tries to kill her Lord, but fails and over times fall in love with him. She can’ make sense of her feelings of hate and love and runs away. Kansuke, deperate to save the girl finds her. Aside from Harunobu he is probably the only one aware of the Princess’s conflicting feelings, but is still trying to convince her that bearing a child that would be both Takeda and Suwa would be to her advantage.
When the child is born not much later, Kansuke find that aiding this son will be his new purpose in life.
I stopped at episode 24 and the conflict with the Uesugi is about to be a big part from now on.
As I’m watching a version without any helpful (English) subtitles I’m actually surprised that my Japanese held up well enough to follow all of the historical war talk. I feared I would be utterly confused five minutes in, but it wasn’t too bad. After watching jidai geki after jidai geki I seem to have picked up the necessary vocabulary... This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here or over there using OpenID.
“Fûrin Kazan”(風林火山) is a shortened strategy from the “Art of War” that means “quick as the wind, silent as the forest, fierce like fire and strong as a mountain” and was written on the war banners of Takeda Shingen.
The Dorama doesn’t exactly follow the book by Kazushi Inoue, that it's based on, but it focuses on the same character: Kansuke, a rônin and able strategist who will play a big part in making Shingen and his clan great. Kansuke was the main character of Inoue’s book and I have no idea if he is a historical figure or not. The TV series seems to pick up at an earlier date than the novel, because the series starts before Takeda Shingen, still called by his former name Harunobu, exiles his father and I seem to remember the father was exiled already in the book. Kansuke is an able strategist, who dreams about concerning castles and, as the story progresses, of uniting Japan’s mainland. He has a limp and wears an eye patch. Many people treat him like a cripple because of it.
Also this Kansuke seems to be younger than the novel character and he is given a more elaborate back story with a “wife” who is killed by Harunobus father: The first episodes are all about Kansuke and his complicated love story. The girl, Mitsu, falls in love with him when he rescues her. The have an affair, but he doesn’t want to stay and leaves in the hopes of being taken into service of the Imagawa Clan back home. The early episodes also show a little more about Kansukes family hisotry: He was adopted by a samurai family, who now doesn’t want him as a son anymore, because he has a son from his wife who can inherit and who they promote to be taken into the service of the clan instead of Kansuke.
Kansuke takes his old family name back and returns to the place of his birth, were his older brother is involved in a conspiracy.
In the end he returns to Mitsu, who now is pregnant and after she is threatened again, he suddenly finds he feels something for her and wants to have a family with her. He even begin to enjoy the life in the rural village. It’s not long after that, though, that Mitsu and her unborn child die by the father of Takeda Harunobu who is still leader of the clan at this point in tme. This further to strain the relationship between father and son and makes Kansuke try to get revenge with the help of the Imagawa, but is refued again. He then helps defend a castle against Takeda forces, but Harunobu returns after his father’s troops retreat and takes the castle in a surprise attack.
While Takedo Nobutora decides he should get rid of his son before he becomes too dangerous, Harunobu and Kansuke find themselves on the same site. A deal is made with the Imagawa Clan that will help Harunobu overthrow his father. Kansuke and Harunobu have a more complicated realtionship than they have in the novel because of all this, but Harunobu soon discoveres that he has found an able strategist in Kansuke and Kansuke starts to feel a deep admiration for the younger Takeda. Like in the book Kansuke tries to force the Takeda Clan to take him in as a retainer and in the end has to proof himself in a duel. He wins withoug fighting, showing his wisdom and superior strategy.
Meanwhile Harunobu’s second son loses his eyesight because of an illness and his superstitious wife thinks Kansuke, crippled as he is, has brought bad omen’s to her family. The actress playing the wife is playing her in a way that made me sypathisze and dislike her all at once.
The Uesugi Clan makes the first attempt to invade the land of the Takeda and the Suwa, related to the Takeda by marriage, make a pact with the new lords without consulting Harunobu and the stage is set for the quarrel between the two might clans that will go on for years.
The Takeda Clan, in trying to get back their land, overthrow the Suwa. Princess Yû of the Suwa, who hates Takeda Harunobu for killing her family, has to make a decision about becoming his concubine.
The actress playing her is actually pretty good and she plays both the thirst for revenge and her intelligence and ability for political intrigue very well.
It’s particularly enjoyable to watch her interactions with Takeda’s wife, Lady Sanjô. The lady, who has born her husband two sons already of whom the younger one turned out to be blind, already had established an unpleasant relationship with Kansuke and isn’t yet aware of Kansuke’s plans to make a possible heir born by the princess the true heir of the Takeda.
The relationship between the Princess, Takeda Harunobu and Kansuke is very interesting. Kansuke who is starting to have his own political schemes, also becomes the mediator between Lord and concubine. Yû - even after the marriage - tries to kill her Lord, but fails and over times fall in love with him. She can’ make sense of her feelings of hate and love and runs away. Kansuke, deperate to save the girl finds her. Aside from Harunobu he is probably the only one aware of the Princess’s conflicting feelings, but is still trying to convince her that bearing a child that would be both Takeda and Suwa would be to her advantage.
When the child is born not much later, Kansuke find that aiding this son will be his new purpose in life.
I stopped at episode 24 and the conflict with the Uesugi is about to be a big part from now on.
As I’m watching a version without any helpful (English) subtitles I’m actually surprised that my Japanese held up well enough to follow all of the historical war talk. I feared I would be utterly confused five minutes in, but it wasn’t too bad. After watching jidai geki after jidai geki I seem to have picked up the necessary vocabulary... This entry was originally posted at http://www.dreamwidth.org/12345.html. Please comment here or over there using OpenID.