Forum - View topicRurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal Question
|
|
| Author | Message | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Cetus-kun
 Posts: 139 |
|
||
|
Towards the beginning of the first episode when spoiler[Kenshin buries the bandits and slave traders Hiko kills was there any special reason he used crucifixes to mark the graves? When exactly did the influence of Christianity reach Japan?]
|
|||
|
|||
|
Amethyst Alchemist
Former ANN Editor
 Posts: 312 Location: where it's always a good morning |
|
||
|
Not to be nitpicky, but they are really just crosses and not crucifixes since Jesus is not on them. I'm not sure when Christianity got to Japan, but I think the cross might be a more universal symbol than just Christian. It goes all the way back to the Egyptian ankh, anyway. And I don't think Kenshin is really supposed to be Christian. From what I understand, Christianity wasn't (and still isn't) that prevalent or widespread in Japan. I could be wrong, but I think the cross is just recognized as a universal symbol about mourning for the dead. Even if the Japanese got it from Christianity, they don't necessarily intend to use it in a Christian sense. For example, we might use a yin yang symbol, but we don't usually use it to show taoist beliefs.
And don't forget Kenshin also has a "cross-shaped" scar--so it's not just used in the burial. |
|||
|
|||
Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11430 Location: Frisco, TX |
|
||
|
I don't know the exact date, but Japan had encountered some western Europeans some time in the 16th century (Spaniards or Portuguese, I forget). I remember this because I always see Oda Nobunaga having some sort of western influence in a lot of fictional portrayals. Not sure how accurate they are since fiction just about always portrays him as a really, really bad guy, but if Oda was influenced by western ideologies, then that would date back to at least during Sengoku Jidai (late 1400s to about 1600) or around his lifespan in particular (mid 1500s).
|
|||
|
|||
omar235
 Posts: 1572 Location: Florida, Jacksonvile |
|
||
It twas the Portugese...they introduce fire arms (amoung other things, but the one that caught the Japanese's attention was guns) to the Japanese...it became popular with the daimyo but only a few actually kept them around due to the fact that they felt that other weapons were more effective, this was mostly because they weren't use to them. |
|||
|
|||
Randall Miyashiro
 Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
|
||
|
People seem to think that Kenshin takes place in ancient Japan, but the series (especially the television episodes) takes place at the end of the samurai era. I always think it's odd that my grandparents were born during the Meiji era. Christianity existed in Japan for a few centuries before Kenshin's time..
|
|||
|
|||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group