The Last Samurai. Transcultural Motifs in Jim Jarmusch's Ghost

Adam Uryniak Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland The Last Samurai. Transcultural Motifs in Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai Abstract Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai by - tions of USA, Europe and Japan. Jarmusch’s work can be example of contemporary culture trend named by Wolfgang WelschaJim Jarmusch transculturality. is a film combining According tocinematic his theory tradi the identity of the man is dependent on foreign elements absorbed by the culture in which he lives. Two main inspirations for the director are samurai tradition and bushido code origins of these elements, Jarmush is able to construct a coherent, multi-level narra- tive,on one at thehand, same and time tradition maintaining of gangster distance film ontowards the other. American Despite traditions. the culturally Referencing distant works by transgressive directors (J. P. Melville, Seijun Suzuki) Jarmusch becomes the spokesperson for the genre evolution and its often far-fetched influences. Ghost Dog combines the tradition of American gangster cinema and Japanese samurai (1999) is a collage of various film motifs and traditions. Jarmusch films. The shape of the plot refers to the Blaxploitation cinema, andyakuza direct moviesinspiration, by Seijun expressed Suzuki. by Allspecific this isquotations, spiced up arewith the references gloomy crime to Japanese novels literatureby Jean-Pierre and zen Melville, philosophy. as well In as an brutal interview and withblack Janusz humour-filled Wróblewski director commented on his actions: 138 Adam Uryniak I mix styles up in order to get distance. Not in order to ridicule the hero. And why does the gangster style dominate? I will answer indirectly... I like music a lot. Es- pecially bebop and hip hop. There is space for a quotation in it, for a jump, which Jorku”for the 2000:uninitiated 51). sounds like grinding. Music similarly like my films resembles a code, which a sensitive recipient is able to put together (“Don Kichot z Nowego - Ghost Dog, not unlike a few years later Quen- tin TarantinoAt a first glance in Kill Jarmusch’sBill (2003), worktakes isinspiration a postmodern liberally play from with Japanese conven tions of cinema. Director of with only brutal and exotic entourage. Jarmusch discreetly hides certain culturalcinema. However,tracks which in contrast point the to spectator his fellow to filmmaker, a whole range he is ofnot concealed satisfied meanings and associations. It is possible to make this reconstruction in many dimensions, both in the appeal to the old cinema, and to aspects of American culture or multiculturalism. Thanks to such a game with the spectator/reader, the text-film requires complementing […], and encourages co-forming the identity of the protagonist (Hańderek 2013: 69). by Wolfgang Welsch transculturality. According to his theory the identity of manJarmusch’s is dependent work fitson foreigninto the elements course of absorbed contemporary by the culture culture named which he lives in. Cultures today are extremely interconnected and entangled with each other. Life- styles no longer end at the borders of national cultures, but go beyond these, are found in the same way in other cultures (Welsch 1999). This way elements until recently regarded as exotic become an integral part of lives of a contemporary man. According to Welsch the concept of transculturality is spreading not only on the level of macro-culture, but also on an individual level. People become cultural hybrids formed not only by their own homeland, but also other countries. “It belongs among the mustiest assumptions that an individual’s cultural formation must be determined by his nationality or national status” (Welsch 1999). In the light of these views Ghost Dog appears as an audio-visual illustration of Welsch’s concepts. according to principles of bushido and considering himself as a contem- poraryThe samurai protagonist. The ofethos Jarmusch’s of Japanese film knightsis an Afro-American turned out to hitman be unusually living The Last Samurai. Transcultural Motifs in Jim Jarmusch’s... 139 attractive for the Western culture, becoming a symbol of the Land of the jidaigeki) widelyRising Sunknown quickly. and appreciated.A sudden increase In the USAin the resemblance popularity of thethis Japanesegenre to cinema in the 1950s made film stories about masters of sword ( The Magnificent Seven (basedwestern on was Seven quickly Samurai noticed – Shichinin which resultedno Samurai in aby few Akira Hollywood Kurosawa, remakes 1954) of popular Japanese films: Rashomon(1960) by byJohn A. KurosaSturges- wa, 1950). In later years Americans started exploiting samurai attributes or The Outrage (1964) by Martin Ritta (based on The Hunted (1995) by J. F. Lawton and Blind Fury (1989) by Philip Noyce. Usingas a way samurai to enhance or yakuza “B” inclass the actionplot served films. as One a pretext can quote for introducing such titles likethe striking and brutal exoticism making clichéd story plots more attractive. More seriously the subject was treated by the creators of The Last Samurai (2003, dir. Edward Zwick). They attempted to introduce the Japanese war- mainly an epic show. rior ethos to the Western spectator,ken-geki – but drama in spite with of swords) this the were film beingremained pro- In Japan samurai films ( - eledduced on from numerous the very kabuki beginning theatre of playsexistence devoted of film to samurai. industry The in this action country. took They were produced in companies based in Kyoto. These films were mod- tagonist was usually a hurt and declassed samurai who avenged his injus- tice,place but in feudalhas always days, beenmost faithfuloften in tothe the Tokugawa code of honourera (1601–1868). – bushido (literallyThe pro was Sadao Yamanaka, author of Sazen Tange and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo (translatedHyakuman as ryo “road no oftsube the ,warrior”). 1935) and The Humanity first great and director Paper ofBalloons samurai ( Ninjofilms kami fusen for adventure, as well as drama genre (Kletowski 2005: 133). , 1937). The films became models for later samurai cinema, both occupation authorities since they could be associated with feudal-milita- risticAfter spirit. the After World occupation War II production ended in of1950s, historical historical films cinemawas banned enjoyed by a period of great popularity. It was characterised by confronting the beau- tifying image of bygone eras, undermining social and moral norms, dis- playing a variety of psychological traits of protagonists. Among others, directors like Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai), Kenji Mizoguchi (Legend of the Taira Clan - Shin heike monogatari, 1955) or Masaki Kobayashi (Re- bellion – Jôi-uchi: Hairyô tsuma shimatsu of masters of samurai cinema. , 1967) won the worldwide fame 140 Adam Uryniak - thresholdIn 1960s of 1990sand 1970s it seemed the genre that plungedartistic samuraiinto a gradual cinema process had died of comonce andmercialisation. for all. Two Samurai great historical became frescoesheroes of by brutal Akira B-classKurosawa films. were On sup the- posed to be epigones of the genre: The Double (Kagemusha, 1980) and Ran (1985). - ZatoichiUnexpectedly, (2003), Yoji at Yamada’sthe turning Twilight point of Samurai the 21st (Tasogare century aSeibei few films, 2002) con or Yorijofirmed Takita’s the return When of thethe Lastsamurai Sword genre. is Drawn Such ( Mibufilms gishilike Takeshi den, 2003) Kitano’s con- stituted a contemporary version of ken-geki which allowed more space for It might seem that mixing a samurai genre with a story about a black a wide social panorama of late feudalism Japan (Bobrowski 2012: 140). work. However, the use of Japanese warrior tradition in Ghost Dog is killer fighting against Italian mob would result in a rather peculiar B-class Hagakure. Book of samurai. The book, written in 1710 a carefully thought over process. The sequences in the film start with- quotations from - shige.by Tashiro After Tsuramoto, his master’s is deatha set ofhe reflections lived in a remoteof a hermit place called and spentYamamo the restto Joho of his (1659–1719). life codifying He the used rules to ofbe conduct a clan member of warriors. of Nabeshima Mitsu the Ghostlast scene, Dog treatscommenting this book and as complementing a source of principles, the scenes. according Criminals to which fol- he lives. Quotations are present in the body of the film from the very first to merely replaced the vendetta law or “honour of the thief” with bushido lowing a specific moral code are not something new to cinema. Jarmusch of the available models of behaviour. code. Living in global world the protagonist of the film simply chooses one The story about an Afro-American who lives according to the code of samurai, faithfully reconstructing the model described in the book and accepting mentality onof thea book “East” Road more of the and Samurai more firmly,, chooses becomes his cultural an excellent patterns illustration by himself, of drawing mutual frominfluences the possibilities and tangle ofgiven cultures. by the The contemporary character introduced open form by of Jarmusch, multiculturality based (Hańderek 2013: 59). - ough psychological construction of the protagonist only proves it. Ghost But the samurai code is not only an exotic plot element and the thor Dog turns out to be a perfect samurai. This not only includes his ability The Last Samurai. Transcultural Motifs in Jim Jarmusch’s... 141 to use the sword or loyalty to his master, but above all – his attitude to- wards the world surrounding him and the concern about spiritual de- velopment. reading. He takes human relations very seriously, too. His friendship with the GhostFrench Dog speaking spends Haitian his free Raymond time on meditations,belongs to most fencing beautiful practice in andthe There is a strong bond between them and they consider themselves good friends.entire film. They Men don’t are know able totoo communicate much about eachin spite other, of the but language this doesn’t barrier. stop them from feeling mutual respect.

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