The presence of “samurai genre conventions” is primarily evident in the anime series Samurai Champloo, an anime series consisting of 26 episodes that aired from 2004-2005. It follows a group of three different individuals through their quest to go across Japan to find the samurai who smells of sunflowers. The series has an overarching plot, but the series is episodic. The series is divided so each episode contains a distinctive story that is unrelated to the previous one yet the overarching plot regarding the search for this mysterious samurai gets closer to being solved. This anime is unique in the way it presents samurai genre conventions because it manages to blend hip-hop seamlessly into it. The themes of contemporary influence are present in the anime, specifically the influences of hip-hop into the feudal Japan setting. These conventions are significant because the show takes elements from the Tokugawa period, samurai and Japanese culture. The elements are evident throughout each episode; however, it adds modernity to them to create dynamically rich characters. Modernism refers to a global movement in society and culture that sought out to find a new alignment with the experience and values of modern industrial life. It's important to consider how exactly modernism can affect samurai genre conventions. There are plenty of other forms of media that do have the similar concept of combining samurai elements with modernity, however, the themes, a long with characters with unique backgrounds, presented in Samurai Champloo prove their individualism. Many also wonder “Are the conflicts the characters encounter are similar to those within the Tokugawa period in Japan?”. Sources like the direct anime, Branko Mitrovic’s “Attribution of Concepts and Problems with Anachronism”, and Clearly’s “Samurai Mind: Lessons from Japan's Master Warriors” will define these philosophical samurai genre connections.
Samurai Champloo is an anime series directed by Shinichiro Watanabe and is set in an alternate version of Edo-era Japan. It follows an orphan named Fuu who gets these two master swordsman Mugen and Jin to accompany her to find the “samurai that smells of sunflowers”. The trio lives a nomadic lifestyle, they are constantly running on empty stomachs, in search of food. While Fuu has her mind set on finding the sunflower samurai, it is unclear what the motivations of both Mugen and Jin are. They both wield their deadly blades for no cause or person in particular other than themselves. Mostly episodic in nature, the series throughout depicts Jin and Mugen going through different struggles as samurai. However, the strength and depth of the show’s characters, its poetic swordplay battles, and hip-hop influenced soundtrack ultimately aid to portraying these genre conventions. If you look at the characters that the series portrays each one carries traits that emulate these samurai genre conventions. Fuu is not a samurai but she possesses traits that were common in samurai during the Tokugawa period in Japan.
First, looking at Mugen he is a samurai that is estimated to be within his mid-20s. He is very rough with his words and movements within the series. His clothing is antiquated, his outfit is abnormally baggy very much similar to hip-fashion in the modern day. He wears dark gray hakama (Japanese traditional trousers) that are cut off at shorts-length along with Japanese Geta which are wooden sandals (Figure 1). These geta are fitted with several metal strips on the soles, allowing him to use his sandals as blocking devices when he battles. According to the Kazuto Nakazawa’s “Samurai Champloo: Roman Album”, Mugen has instincts like a wild animal and breathes like a beast. When engaging in combat, he uses his personal style mixed with traditional samurai fighting which is important when it comes to discussing genre conventions within this anime. The term,“champloo,” means mishmash and it can be inferred that Watanabe aimed to have Mugen as this mix of a traditional samurai with traits that are almost similar to a member to the yakuza. His fighting style is similar to hip-hop breakdancing which is a reflection of his personality. Throughout the series, it is revealed that Mugen was betrayed and lived a solitary life that was full of pain (Nakazawa 4). It is this past experience that motivated him to fight even if his life is at risk. Mugen does not submit to Japanese societal norms. Mugen has tattoos after he was arrested by the government and these tattoos were used in “distinguishing criminals and social outcasts during the feudal era.” This arrest was prior to him joining the journey with Jin and Fuu. Mugen’s unfiltered speech echoes the voice of his true self. Rather than him conforming to the common practice of public restraint that samurai follow, Mugen often rebel verbally. The use of unfiltered speech allows him to be individually characterized as crude, and unrefined.
Jin is characterized as a swordsman who appears to be in his mid-20s as well (Figure 2). Jin is inspired by the swordsman from Edo period named Mariya Enshirou who is said to have a record of over one thousand sword matches without losing one. Jin’s style of sword fighting is inspired by the Muju Shinken school which is known to be the best for samurai in Japanese history. The style of sword fighting was evident in samurai genre conventions since the styles can differ from individual to individual. Typically, polar opposite characters in Japanese samurai cinema tend to carry different sword style techniques to show the contrast of the two characters with any battle sequence (Nakazawa 6). This characteristic is a trait of the sub-genre of samurai media known as the “chanbara,” films/series.
According to source Japan Info, the samurai genre is the one classic staple of Japanese cinema and is the chanbara genre. Chanbara, meaning, “sword fighting movies”, is a subgenre of Jidaigeki or period dramas. Chanbara is films that focus on samurai, ronin, or ninja. They have been incredibly influential in the western cinema, if you have seen a big action movie you have very likely been exposed to the chanbara influence” (Japan Info). Samurai Champloo clearly follows under this sub-genre of Samurai films since it does contain a lot of sword fighting elements throughout. Jin was the highest ranked in the Muju Shinken Dojo, and he learned how to adept his blade even better than his master. Jin throughout the series is seen to be felt alone which is what a lot of samurai during the Tokugawa period felt at the time. The Tokugawa period was between 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when Japanese society was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate (Nakazawa 6). When Jin was forced to kill his teacher, he eventually abandoned the school which left him wandering along the Japanese country.
According to Propp’s“Morphology of the Folktale,” he claimed in “XI. The Hero Leaves Home” that the protagonist leaves and are joined by another individual known as the provider (Propp 24). In this case, there are three protagonists but both Jin and Mugen act as the provider for Fuu on this journey (Figure 4). Out of the three in the group, Jin excels at sensing danger and is the most intellectual of the group; however, he happens to be less outspoken than both Fuu and Mugen. According to a study done by Macy Park, she states Jin speaks “approximately 43% less than Mugen and 59% less than Fuu, with a total of 3,516 words used throughout the entire series. Overall, this averages approximately 135 words per episode. Ironically, Jin’s silence reflects the duties of a warrior more than the manly ideologies associated with the samurai”(Park). It is Jin’s lack of speech that allows him to avoid conflict compared to Mugen, which are noble traits that warrior samurai possessed in the Tokugawa period. Jin is conscious of the physical effects of speech rather than the social ones. Jin is often frustrated when Mugen acts verbally aggressive since he believes he is making a mockery of the samurai. Overall, Jin’s neutral, polite, and reserved speech allude to the many undertones of Bushido themes that are predominant in Edo Japan.
Fuu, who is the leading lady of the series, wears a deep pink kimono with a pattern of flowers. She also carries a pink tantō sword which is a small weapon that was worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. Attached to the tanto are three “netsuke” (Japanese miniature sculptures): a skull, a pair of dice and a dog (Figure 3). It is important to note that even though Fuu wasn’t a samurai, she still appeared with samurai clothing which is common in the samurai genre. The women in the genre would always wear traditional garments and Samurai Champloo decides to create a hybrid of modernity with traditional. According to Clive Sinclair, she claims in her book that “The Tokugawa government imposed a strict new social order to Japan. The role of the samurai — and of their swords — changed dramatically, as samurai were forced to choose between relinquishing their weapons and becoming peasants or keeping their swords, moving to the city where their feudal lord lived and becoming aristocratic bureaucrats, administrators, courtiers, or military leaders,” (Sinclaire 1) It was very common especially during this period for individuals to value their blade because it saved them from the peasantry. This is why throughout the story Mugen and Jin consistently take care of their blades and use them throughout each episode. Even though in history women did not really carry swords, Watanabe chose to design Fuu this way so the viewer is reminded about the emphasis of blades during the Edo period.
Propp’s piece can also be used to breakdown Akira Kurosawa’s magnum opus Seven Samurai. Seven Samurai was a film that followed samurai genre conventions accurately while preserving a rich plot to the film. The film contains several aspects that are similar to how a folktale is crafted and then these elements are somewhat represented in Samurai Champloo’s individual episodes. It is important to note that Seven Samurai was adapted into a science fiction anime known as Samurai 7. Both the anime and film follow the traditional features and barely had the modernity mix that Samurai Champloo is notorious for. In the film, it follows a story of a weak village that is in need of protection from a group of bandits who steal their crops. The villagers take the initiative of hiring a group of seven samurais to protect and defend them. According to Propp, the hero is the pact of samurai while the enemy is the group of bandits. In function VIII of a folktale titled, “The villain causes harm or injury to a member of a family" it can be applied to the conflict of the film itself (Propp 17). The conflict of the film is war as the bandits are causing harm to the entire village. This is a typical element in a traditional samurai genre film since samurai morals are based on honor, protection, and respect. The supposed, “hero,” is the samurai who comes to battle the bandits, more specifically Kambei who is the leading samurai of the seven. The film follows the traditional plot-line of the heroes engaging in a life-threatening battle to save the innocent from oppression. Kurosawa creates a visually realistic environment with very minimal retcons in the plot. Even though the film is shot in black and white, the film’s camera techniques and lighting create a believable environment It is this factor alone that helps this film deviate from Samurai Champloo. The film utilizes samurai who are of upper-caste however, the villagers who hire them are of different castes which is problematic because it is believed castes must never mix. This is one of the few instances where Seven Samurai deviates from traditional norms.
Some recurring elements in Kurosawa’s films are about master-disciple relationships and follow heroic champions. Another function from Propp that can be applied is function 23 when the hero, unrecognized, arrives home or in another country. In this case, we have seven heroes which are the seven samurai who is brought to aid the village in this time of crisis. Propp claims that the hero has an unrecognized arrival and that can be applied to Kambei the leading samurai. In function 25, the hero is approached with a difficult task which is also evident (Propp 40). In the film, the elder decides that they should hire some samurai to defend the village and kill the bandits. Since they have nothing to offer but food, the elder tells them to, “find hungry samurai,” who are willing to work on the task for food. The difficult task bestowed upon the samurai is to get rid of an entire army of bandits while not putting their lives at danger. It's also important to note that not all seven samurais make it out alive at the end of the film. Only three survive and they believe that the victory has been given to the farmers while the samurais have taken defeat. Propp’s element 16 can accurately describe the war scene and fights that take place in the film. Element 16 details the struggle where the hero and the villain engage in direct combat. Propp provides four different types of battles the hero can encounter, the one that is parallel with the film is “They fight in an open field (H1). Here, first of all, belong fights with dragons or with Cudo-Judo, etc. (125), and also battles with an enemy army or a knight, etc” (Propp 34). The open field element and the judo fighting style are evident throughout the war scenes of the film. Using these elements, many can conclude that Seven Samurai follows the traditional elements of a Japanese samurai folktale. Samurai Champloo tends to deviate from traditional works like Kurosawa’s films because of its mixing of cultures, anachronisms, and storytelling.
Samurai Champloo deviates from Seven Samurai on many instances. First, the anime is based around a US invention: the music style of hip-hop mixed with samurai fighting elements. Seven Samurai is based around the theme of society versus class when the farmers and samurai interact with each other. Mugen and Kambei differ a lot in character as Mugen is tremendously stubborn and immature, Kambei is a man of principal. Kambei’s personality is a little similar to Jin’s traits because they have a past where they have previously served someone. Kambei’s daimyo (Japanese Lord) was killed in his past and this was similar to when Jin was forced to kill his master. The plot for Samurai Champloo in non-linear as for each episode the viewer can expect anything from the series dealing with themes of debt, prostitution, death, and betrayal. Seven Samurai follows a linear storyline as the goal of the film is to use these seven samurais to teach the village how to defend themselves. The anime is more known for its scenes that are juxtaposed with modern quirks such as people beatboxing to humorous and surreal effect. Episode topics try to cover every area that is barely explored by other samurai-era anime that are more concerned with traditional ‘fight evil’ plots. Seven Samurai does the exact opposite as its plot follows the traditional 'fight evil’ plots that samurai films are known for (Kurosawa). Music was something unique to Champloo since it composed of a mix between hip-hop, funk, and pop. The artist used for the music is Nujabes who was a Japanese DJ that produced atmospheric music from hip-hop to jazz. The music for Kurosawa’s film was done by Fumio Hayasaka who developed individual themes for particular characters and events. He gives the themes a Japanese flair by using Japanese instruments in the score. He followed the tradition of western composers to make the film more accessible to western audiences (Lysy, 2017).
Samurai Champloo does get compared to other samurai cartoons likes Samurai Jack and Afro Samurai. Samurai Jack tells the story of a young prince from feudal Japan who is sent in a portal to the future by the demon Aku. For the classic cartoon, the only similarity is that the protagonist Jack possesses several traits that are evident in Jin. They both carried a traditional sword, both speak at a very minimum and they are wise. Afro Samurai is a lot similar to Samurai Champloo but on a lesser scale. The series follows a guy named Afro who is considered to be the 2nd best master swordsman in Japan. Afro Samurai is another anime known to fuse hip-hop and samurai culture; however, the setting is in a futuristic feudal Japan. There is a journal written by Keevan Robertson titled “Samurai with Afros: Political and Cultural Connotations of African American Depictions in Japanese-style Animation” which actually refers to Afro Samurai. Robertson in this journal look at the music of the anime and how the nature of hip-hop and rap music is a “polycultural” phenomenon. In fact, he states “the fusion of Japanese traditional culture in terms of musical instrumentation and romanticized shogun-era ideologies and contemporary hip-hop reflects the hybridized nature of the series” (Robertson 33). In other words, this anime depicts African American culture through the lens of Japanese-style animation which is quite similar to Samurai Champloo. Overall, Champloo deviates a lot from a traditional genre film like Seven Samurai yet carries traits that are found in other animated works. It is this uniqueness that allows the anime to dive into themes that no samurai form of media can discuss.
This series tends to follow an anachronistic timeline since there isn’t chronological consistency present. Compared to typical samurai genre conventions, this series will fuse these conventions with ideas that are out-of-place in time. One example of this is within two episodes – Episode 18 “War of the Works” and Episode 23 “Baseball Blues”. Both of these episodes deal with an anachronistic encounter that is between the Japanese and Americans. It takes the traditional Edo period for the Japanese and presents the Americans as modernized. Episode 18 is set in Hiroshima and is about graffiti, while Episode 23 is about a baseball game between Japan and America. In this episode, the American team is actually led by Alexander Cartwright who formalized the baseball rules for the New York Knickerbockers. Baseball was introduced in the late 19th century in Japan and it was a lot more unfamiliar there compared to the United States (O’Kefee 23). This episode exhibits how the two teams take a striking contrast when they enter the field. Looking at clothing, the American team is dressed up in traditional light-grey baseball jerseys. The Japanese team carries more individuality since Mugen, Fuu and Jin are all wearing classic samurai attire. This episode mixes those traditional samurai genre conventions by utilizing the game baseball to westernize the culture.
“War of the Works,” on the contrary, focuses on both history and society. In this episode, it is revealed that Mugen is illiterate and is trying to learn how to read and write. For Jin, it turns out a dojo where he had studied had been inherited by the sons of his old master. The sons fight on-going gangs back by tagging (using graffiti) buildings and other landmarks in Hiroshima. It is important to notice that “tagging” is not a Tokugawa activity and shows the fusion of the two different eras. Scholar William Benzon wrote a piece titled “Postmodern is Old Hat: Samurai Champloo” which comments on the mix of the two genres. He claimed, “Tagging is important in the hip-hop culture that saturates Champloo’s contemporary ambiance” (Benzon 272). He is essentially saying that both hip-hop and tagging were elements taken from the Westernization and brought into the anime to mix the genre conventions together. Towards the end of the episode, Mugen gets in a tagging contest with the gang where the person who tags the most difficult spot wins. According to Eiko Ikegami’s book titled,“Bonds of Civility,” he claimed that many samurai, merchants, and farmers could meet and interact as equals through aesthetic activities like this (Ikegami 77). The series as a whole is deeply concerned with artistic activities, having numerous episodes that are devoted to painting, kabuki (Japanese dance), rap and music.
There are two episodes that portray samurai genre conventions and that is episodes 16 and 17 which are,“Lullabies of the Lost: Verse 1 and 2”. This pair of episodes, in particular, deal with clan clashes and samurai sword battles. It starts with Mugen, Jin, and Fuu getting themselves into an argument that allows the trio to go their separate ways. Jin ends up confronting his past since he encounters a former student from the Muju Shinken School, Yukimaru. Mugen and Fuu encounter a man named Okuru, who is being chased by the Matsumae clan. The Matsumae clan unified Hokkaido's Oshima Peninsula during the middle of the 16th century and they would continue to be the northernmost clan through the end of the Edo Period. The Matsumae clan as the only “daimyo” clan did not hold land from the shogunate. Okuru was being chased because he had killed a clan official and burnt down his village. The episode concludes with him burning to his death, and the crew witnessing it first hand. A flashback is shown to provide the viewer history of what Okuru did to get him in this state. As it shows Okuru burning his village, a traditional song plays which is known as Pekambe Uku or translated as the “Wheat Harvesting Song,” sung by Umeko Ando. This song helps convey the tone of the samurai genre since it plays when it deals with philosophical themes of betrayal, honor, and samurai code. The song is played with a stringed instrument called the tonkori. The instrument is said to represent the body of a woman (Nakazawa 28-29). The sound creates an Edo period tone throughout the flashback and alludes to these concepts that a samurai would encounter on their duty. The instrument is an icon of the Edo period and helps create the traditional atmosphere that Watanabe wanted to provide within this episode. Jin also is provided a substantial amount of time devoted to his fights. His fight take place between only two people, that they only seem brief in comparison to Mugen‘s, who usually takes on five to ten people at a time. Jin is always composed during his fights and secures victory quickly in a way that evokes the viewer to sense he is holding back his true skill.
There is one episode titled,“Artistic Anarchy,” that addresses the artistic aspect of samurai and the Edo period. This episode starts where the trio has taken a break and realized they can’t complete their journey because of the lack of money. There is an investigation going on about the disappearance of young women who sat as models for wooden block prints. Fuu has been chosen by the artist Moronobo Hishikawa who is suspected in the investigation. Once the artist is done with the painting, Fuu is held hostage by a group of gangsters. The episode concludes with Fuu being freed by Mugen and the artist Hishikawa getting caught. There is a monologue at the end the portrays Ishikawa's painting of Fuu, somehow managing to find its way in the hands of famous artist Vincent Van Gogh, supposedly serving as the inspiration for his various sunflower paintings in the anime’s timeline (Watanabe, Episode 5). This episode serves as another example of how it followed samurai genre norms through its art. For example, all printed matter in the Edo period was created with carved woodblocks. It turns out Moronobu Hishikawa was a traditional Japanese artist known for popularizing the use of woodblock prints and paintings in the late 17th century. He was an artist during the period of the samurai and served as a legitimate influence for Van Gogh’s piece known as “Sunflowers”. Samurai Champloo twists the original story by making the woodblock painting of Fuu the inspiration compared to Ishikawa's original work. This is one of the few times that the anime’s episode will draw inspiration from historically accurate information in the Tokugawa period. Again, it takes elements from the samurai genre period but alters them to where the elements are modernized for the audience.
Samurai Champloo seems to follow the philosophical pathway to including plenty of anachronisms throughout its numerous episodes. Anachronisms are “someone or something placed in the wrong period in history, or something that belongs to the past rather than the present”(Cambridge, 2018). Samurai Champloo incorporates elements from different time periods into its Edo era setting without breaking the immersion of the viewer. The first anachronism is Fuu’s nail polish that she wears throughout the anime. Colored nail polish was established long before the Edo period; however, Fuu had a sunflower pattern on her nails which was not invented until the 1900s. There are also a few scenes of beatboxing samurai like at the beginning of “Lullabies of the Lost Verse 1”. Hip-Hop wasn’t established until the 1980s so it leads to another anachronism in the series because it wasn’t even invented yet. Even the baseball is an anachronism, it was based on a game in England called rounders. In 1845, the general rules of baseball were established, and many can infer that the anime took place well before then. Also, some of the players have popular athletic brand Nike logos on their shoes and Nike wasn’t founded until 1964. This is another anachronism since the time Nike was established and the Edo period do not match up. Russian philosopher Branko Mitrovic composed a study titled Attribution of Concepts and Problems with Anachronism. In this study, he claimed, “the attribution of specific beliefs to historical figures is contested by arguing that it is anachronistic to attribute to them some of the concepts that are necessary in order to formulate these beliefs,” (Mitrovic 304). Many historians are against these anachronisms because they distort historical content but in Watanabe’s case, it helped create individualism for the series.
Another episode to look at is titled “Gamblers and Gallantry”, which sparks discussion for both genre conventions and anachronisms. This episode tackles a lot of mature themes that anime typically don’t get around to discussing. First, the episode is claimed to take place by the Hamamatsu Station. The city of Hamamatsu was prominent during the Edo period but there is a retcon evident in regard to the station. The station wasn’t open until September 1st, 1888 which is a few decades after the Edo period. This is one anachronism that is evident because the continuity isn’t on par with the time period the anime is supposedly placed in. In this episode, Jin encounters a woman named Shino, who was the former proprietress of a large kimono store. Jin noticed her sadness as it is revealed they she has been forced to sell herself into prostitution to pay back her husband’s debts. Jin falls in love with Shino and does all his best to set her free from this misery she is put upon. This episode shows the sacrifices Jin is willing to take for to save this one girl. In one scene, Jin is shown getting beat up by the brothel staff because he had no money, yet he just wanted to talk to Shino. The scene has him on the floor taking hits by the staff because he didn’t want to lose privileges of not seeing her. Jin could have easily attacked in this scene, but he decided to take the pain now and revenge later (Watanabe, Episode 11). This scene actually goes against traditional samurai genre norms because the main value that a samurai cherishes is honor. Jin sacrificed his honor and respect as a warrior to attempt to save this ordinary girl who misfortune was brought upon.
In most samurai films, you will typically never see a samurai sacrifice their respect to save an innocent civilian off the streets. In cases like Seven Samurai or Yojimbo, a scene like this would fit out of place. Due to these genre norms, it is also believed that samurai aren’t supposed to fall in love or have traits of sympathy that would distract them from their duty. This is not the case because Thomas Clearly addresses these concepts in his book titled “Samurai Mind: Lessons from Japan's Master Warriors” which looks at five primary classic texts from the Edo period. In “Book One: The Way of the Knight” By Yamaga Soko. Soko was a Japanese philosopher and strategist under the Tokugawa shogunate. As a scholar, he applied the Confucian idea of a "superior man" to the samurai in Japan. In his book, he stated “Therefore in a manly man’s personal discipline he should make humanity and justness his bases of reliance. Humanity is the life-giving heart of heaven and earth. When the feeling of sympathy emerges in proper proportion, this is the function of love” (Cleary 58). He is claiming that samurai can rely on humanity and justness when making a rational decision. This is one aspect that is ignored but Samurai Champloo seems to tackle upon this idea. Jin at the end of the episode is successful in freeing Shino by sending her off on a boat, so she can live in a nunnery. This episode as a whole helps depict the trait of a samurai that Soko references in his book.
The most significant element of the episode“Gamblers and Gallantry” is the sudden and unexpected look at Jin’s emotions and humanity. As discussed before, Jin is the more responsible, reliable and focused character out the trio. The emotional bond formed between Jin and Shino immensely sincere and creates this thematic story for the viewer. In between this story are more anachronisms. One noticeable anachronism is the mirror in the brothel that Shino uses in the episode. During the Edo period, Japan did not have glass mirrors until the Meiji Era which was the nineteenth century. Mirrors until then were made of highly polished steel or bronze, and were often curved/rounded. In this episode this wasn’t the case, the reflection was so flat and clear that it looked like glass. When Jin was focused on his love affair, Fuu was seen calculating their funds with a tool called a “soroban”. It evolved from the Chinese too called “suan pan”, which was introduced to Japan in the 1500s (O’Kefee 11). The issue is that it didn't become a soroban until the early 1900s so it's considered another subtle anachronism.
Overall, the methods of how Samurai Champloo uses samurai genre conventions is unique compared to other forms of media. The anime and its use of episodic storytelling create many opportunities to tell anachronic stories in the Edo period. Mugen, Jin, and Fuu all possess unique traits that convey the traditional genre elements, but the twists allow the series to modernize itself. The characterization and individualism that the anime uses help categorize this series into a mishmash of genres. Samurai Champloo can be classified as a modernist samurai anime that contains a plethora of anachronism throughout each episode. It is important to understand that the struggles internally and externally each character encounters are identical to samurai in the Tokugawa era. It is important to understand how the series deviates from traditional samurai films in order to appreciate the mature, complex and realistic themes that Watanabe’s wants the viewer to intake. Comparisons to traditional Japanese samurai films helps to understand the uniqueness that Champloo possesses over other forms of media. In all, the series utilizes concepts and conflicts that real samurai and the civilians encountered to tell the anachronic story of the search for the samurai who smells of sunflowers.