The Last Great Battle of the Samurai

The Last Great Battle of the Samurai in 1614 at Osaka castle.

Read the story of The Last Battle and draw on paper:

• Timeline of events that are important.

• Main characters.

• Setting (castle and surroundings).

• Characteristics and perspectives that might be interesting for creating a story.

• Whatever else that excites you to do something with this historical event.

Briefing

Create a virtual reality STORY for tourists, that is exploratory, informative and as truthful to the events as it can get.

Requirements

People need to learn and experience:

• Who was involved and why this great battle started. (Ieyasu and Hideyori)

• Where; it needs to provide an idea of the setting of the battle in the Osaka-area.

• Samurai-armor.

• How; the sensory experience of this battle, or the samurai (the SCENT-TACTILE experience).

• How; it needs to have a mystic feel. For inspiration, see The Loyal 47 Ronin (1958) , The Twilight Samurai (2002), Crouching Tigers, Hidden Dragons (2000).

It should:

• Not be harmful, but not be too safe either.

• Not be a game. Not Bruce Lee style. No Quentin Tarantino. No game, no levels, but it needs to be playful and can be multi-player.

• Not be an experience full of slaughter or horrendous activity.

The Last Great Battle of the Samurai was Fought at Osaka Castle

Historical event: 04 June 1615 Forces under Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu took Osaka Castle in Japan, beginning a period of peace which lasted nearly 250 years.

https://blog.gaijinpot.com/400th-anniversary-osaka-castle/

1. Text & Video of historical overview

1615: Four Hundred Years Ago the Last Great Battle of the Samurai was Fought at Osaka Castle | History.infoHistory.info

social hierarchy of Japan at that time

2. Painting: 17th century overview of the battle

Siege of Osaka, 17th century Japanese painting

https://blog.gaijinpot.com/400th-anniversary-osaka-castle/

http://portfolios.scad.edu/gallery/20393415/Siege-of-Osaka-Series

3. Mapping

One of the oldest newsprints sold during this period, depicting the fall of Osaka Castle:

Map Japan, 1595

4. Models / Mockups

Donjon of Osaka Castle | LEGO® Ideasideas.lego.com

3D model and FLOOR PLAN of OSAKA castle

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1Azfh8EVQ8A/U5Np7_MdWDI/AAAAAAAAFzM/mekZZaSPJ5Q/s0/japan_day_14_06.jpg

5. Figurines: action scenes

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1Azfh8EVQ8A/U5Np7_MdWDI/AAAAAAAAFzM/mekZZaSPJ5Q/s0/japan_day_14_06.jpg

Samurai Exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston

6. Showcase representations

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e6/58/f7/e658f76e5903666409579b88a891fc6b.jpg

http://portfolios.scad.edu/gallery/20393415/Siege-of-Osaka-Series

7. Portraits & Characters

Toyotomi Hideyoshi 1601

A 19th-century samurai with a chonmage (typical Japanese topknot haircut)

8. Viewing Box

(played at Osaka Castle)

9. Film & Animation

The Last Great Battle is the subject of many films, such as:

• Historical drama "Ōsaka-jō monogatari" (engl. The Tale of Osaka Castle, UK).

• Some other English titles: "Daredevil in the Castle", "Devil in the Castle", "Osaka Castle Story") (1961).

• Tai Kato's musical film Brave Records of the Sanada Clan (1963).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC7p6nrq1Dswww.youtube.com

Game

• The fall of Osaka is the final level in the Samurai Warriors series, also serving as the climax of Hattori Hanzō's, Ieyasu's and Yukimura's stories. Called the "Osaka Campaign", it compiles all the battles of the Winter and Summer Campaigns.

• In the computer game Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, the siege of Osaka castle is the setting of the first mission.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Mrc-Zis9KIwww.youtube.com

Role-play

Virtual Reality

I did not find any 'Siege of Osaka' experiences, but of course there is a Godzilla VR:

https://vrzone-pic.com/osaka/activity/godzilla.htmlvrzone-pic.com