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Francis Takahashi wrote:
The fictional accounts by the renowned historical novelist Eiji Yoshikawa, of the legendary “kensei”, Miyamoto Musashi, are further enhanced by Musashi having actually existed, and those same battle scenes historically plausible. And who can easily forget the “Last Samurai”, depicting the exploits of the Satsuma patriot Takamori Saigo, who along with 40 like minded samurai, ushered in the death of the 400 year old feudal system in 1701, along with their glorious own.
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Minor quibble - Saigo Takamori, of course, was born in 1828...
Quote:
Francis Takahashi wrote:
Nonetheless, let us not be haplessly tied to dubious “factual” accounts, and feel forever “second class”, as we could probably never hope to duplicate such events. Reality has much better “stories” in store for those who actually follow through with their honest pursuit of pragmatic, and even idealistic goals. History is replete with such accounts, although not quite with as much fanfare. Not for nothing do “Medals of Honor”, “Silver Crosses” and the “President’s Medal” exist for real life heroes we have all heard about, and possibly know personally.
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Of course, many of the stories are from people who are still alive and accessible. And of course, experiencing some of those things for yourself would change your perspective on the stories quite a bit, wouldn't it?
Best,
Chris