I really enjoyed the Japanese film “The Twilight Samurai”. Not only was the plot interesting, but also I was able to learn about Japanese history and culture, and in so doing, erase a few stereotypes from my head.

I, like most westerners, thought that samurai were analogous to European knights or warriors in that they existed to fight. However, the eponymous twilight samurai, though he is a skilled warrior, leads a life that bears no relation to combat. He farms a meager plot of land and works as a record-keeper for the local ruler. When he is called to fight, he goes only out of fear of what would happen should he refuse an order from his superiors.

Beyond simply a realistic portrayal of the samurai, we are given through this film a picture of what life was like at the end of the Edo period. Though the movie doesn’t present general information in the way that a history text would, I think it conveys more effectively a sense of what happened leading up to the Meiji restoration. Cultural changes are always grounded in the common man, after all.