This paper discusses the 2016 Sekigahara Festival Reenactment battle and analyses its historical accuracy. The annual reenactment sees dozens of people dress up in samurai armour and perform a choreographed performance following the events of the historical battle of Sekigahara, a decisive event in Japan's history that ended the Warring States period and unified the country for over 200 years. Before the analysis of the reenactment, there is some discussion regarding the Japanese government's policy of protecting cultural properties, the concept of Soft Power, the value of a country's cultural exports as a form of influence and Sekigahara's sister city relationship with Gettysburg as these various factors may have influenced the design of the reenactment. The paper analyses the reenactment battle in comparison to historical accounts, both modern and contemporary. The measurements of accuracy are the location, the deployment of troops, the course of events, the apparel, the weaponry and various forms of identification, such as banners and famous samurai accessories, with photographs of the reenactment being compared to a historical account from a first-hand witness and various modern academic studies of the battle by historians and epistemologists. The paper then compares the reenactment battle's historical accuracy with a number of examples from Japanese period films as they share similarities regarding thematic design and production and can provide insight into the decision of whether or not to embrace historical accuracy. These Samurai films depict contemporary military engagements and follow similar guidelines regarding the choreography, the outfits and the weaponry. The paper concludes by explaining what the degree of historical accuracy can show us about Japan's motives for and attitudes towards reconstructions of the past.
reenactment battle, historical accuracy, Sekigahara, Samurai film, cultural properties,
Permanent link to this resource: https://doi.org/10.24384/000499
Serafinas, Vitas
Supervisors: Jacoby, Alexander
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences\Department of English and Modern Languages
Year: 2018
© The Author(s) Published by Oxford Brookes University