Ask John: Are There Any Anime About Samurai History

Question:
After I saw the “The Last Samurai.” Is there any anime related to the Japanese Samurai history?

Answer:
Perhaps because samurai history is relatively so well known in everyday Japanese culture, and possibly because historical fact has been the basis of so many famous live action samurai movies including Hiroshi Inagaki’s Miyamoto Musashi trilogy and more than a half dozen different film versions of Chushingura, anime tends to not frequently present highly accurate historical renditions of history. For example, I’m not aware of any anime recreations of the Satsuma Rebellion that serves as the climactic battle of The Last Samurai, but the real life statue of Satsuma Rebellion leader Takamori Saigo appears at the beginning of Risky Safety episode 2.

Generally, rather than literally adapt historical fact, anime often uses historical fact as a basis for historical fiction. Both Rurouni Kenshin and Peacemaker Kurogane feature fictionalized representations of the Shinsengumi and its real life generals. The Kido Shinsengumi Moeyoken OAV series is very, very loosely based on the historical Shinsengumi. The Makai Tenshou (“Ninja Resurrection”) OAV series uses the historical Shimabara Revolt as its starting point. And the ninja action OAV series Yotoden uses the historical leader Nobunaga Oda as its imaginatively stylized villain.

Reader “Migiwa” wrote in to mention the 20 episode long TV series “Shonen Tokugawa Ieyasu” that aired from April 9th until September 17, 1975. This anime adaptation of the youth of Japanese shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, based on the historical novel by Yamaoka Souhachi, is considered by many veteran Japanese anime fans to be the prototypical “well-made and historically accuarate” samurai anime.