Samurai X is an animated series consisting of two volumes and four acts. It is the prequel to the popular television anime series Rurouni Kenshin, except this series has a very dark and somber overtone. This is a rare animated series based on the historical background, people and events of late 19th century Japan. A brief historical account of feudal Japan during the late 19th century is provided below, so that you can have a clearer understanding of the events that took place in the film Samurai X.
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In the 1800's, Japan was bombarded by Western influences. Countries like Russia, Britain, France and the U.S demanded Japan to open its ports for trade. In 1853, Admiral Matthew Perry (commanded the U.S. "Black Ships") forced the Japanese government to open its borders and with it, came an influx of chaos to a deeply rooted Japanese culture. During this time, Japan was ruled by the Tokugawa Shogunate, a dynasty of military rulers for 250 years (the Emperor was only a symbolic power). The Shogunate was a corrupt clan in which its power to control land was distributed to feudal lords, whose families must reside in Edo (Tokyo). This is because Edo was the Shogun's primary base and thus, will keep the lords from conspiring against their rulers and from tearing the country apart. During the Shogun's rule, there were rigid classes: nobles, samurai, clergy and farmers/peasants. Taxes were high, as the emerging merchant class was getting wealthier and the rulers were getting poorer. The Shogun's military government called the Bakafu gave in to the foreigners. The feudal lords who despised the foreigners, came to despise the Shoguns even more. A growing number of the young generation (in which the Reformists were mainly comprised of) believed that the existing government was selling out to the foreigners and wanted to restore power to the Emperor, so that he can kick the British and the Americans out of Japan. During this chaos, the Bakafu's secret police called the Shinsengumi hunted down the foreigners. At the same time, the Shogunate was also dealing with civil unrest. The Satsuma and the Choshu provinces joined forces to defeat the Shoguns and restored the Emperor to power. As Japan is now forced into modernization, the priviledges and the employment of the samurai eroded. |  |
