Hon-zatsu Komoku 97: Ken Wakasagi, Shunya Nagano - Spotting Errors in Period Dramas: If You Use the Back of the Blade, the Sword Will Break

This time, it is "Spotting Errors in Period Dramas: If You Use the Back of the Blade, the Sword Will Break" by Ken Wakasagi and Shunya Nagano.
Shin-Jinbutsu Bunko, ISBN-13: 978-4046010582.
NDC classification is 382. Social Sciences > History of Customs and Manners. Ethnography. Ethnology.
Required background knowledge (Edo period): ★☆☆☆☆

This is a rough project where I use a random number generator to pick one book from the approximately 6,000 I have on hand to read, and while I'm at it, think about whether it can be used for novels. Sometimes I choose them arbitrarily.

★Index by Library Classification

1. Pre-reading impression: Ken Wakasagi, Shunya Nagano - Spotting Errors in Period Dramas: If You Use the Back of the Blade, the Sword Will Break

Since it mentions using the back of the blade, the target is likely the Edo period. The period dramas I write are at most from the end of the Edo period or before the Heian period, so it is slightly off from my target audience, but since I am currently doing a private translation of the Koushi Yawa, it feels like a good way to supplement my knowledge. Or rather, the Edo period lasted 300 years, so there are many things that change depending on the time, but on the other hand, it is a strange era where the authorities placed regulations to prevent technical development.
Anyway, let's open it up.

2. Table of Contents and Preface Check

Read the preface.
The author's transition from novelist to historical researcher has its roots in his upbringing. Both his paternal and maternal grandparents' families held positions as castle deputies serving the Hojo clan during the Sengoku period, and their names appear as domain retainers until the Meiji era. There are piles of ancient documents in the storehouse, and complaints from the Sengoku period were a topic of conversation at family gatherings. Because of that, he became knowledgeable about period dramas. He took up the pen because there are many elementary mistakes and distortions of historical facts in popular period novels and dramas.
Something... is intense. I wish they would scan the original ancient documents before they are lost (a faint hope).
Look at the table of contents.
It feels like themes of a few pages each are set within chapters titled "Truths and Lies about People," "Truths and Lies about Things," and "Truths and Lies about Words."
Focusing on things I don't know, I will read: from Truths and Lies about People, "There was no custom of sitting seiza until the Edo period," "There were village representatives with more power than the magistrate," "The travel expenses for the Fire and Thief Inspector were paid out of the chief's own pocket," "There was a time when the Oniwa-ban were not 'shadowy existences'"; from Truths and Lies about Things, "Why is a Japanese sword held with both hands?," "Did gun squads defend against bullets with shields made of bundled bamboo?"; and from Truths and Lies about Words, "Commoners and low-ranking samurai houses did not have entrances," "It is a rule not to call people by their real names in formal settings."
As always, the first part is a summary, and the second part is my thoughts and miscellaneous impressions.

3. Contents

Regarding "There was no custom of sitting seiza until the Edo period"

The custom of seiza became widespread at the earliest from the end of the Edo period to the Meiji era, and the only people who sat in seiza were criminals brought out to the courthouse. Sitting cross-legged or with one knee up were the formal ways of sitting. Sitting cross-legged involves spreading both knees wide to the left and right and putting the soles of the feet together. Since the tea ceremony aimed for interaction in a relaxed place, the current seiza was a casual way of sitting at the time, but as time went on, it became formalized and the correct way of sitting. This is probably because wooden floors became tatami-matted and cushions became widespread. The "three-finger" bow was also a half-hearted bow started by Yoshiwara courtesans who didn't want their hair buns to fall apart, and samurai daughters greeted people with their chests held high. If we assume combat, the way to open a sliding door is to open it by hand while standing just enough for your toes to enter, and then enter by opening it with your foot while keeping your hand on your short sword so you can draw it.
Is the cross-legged sitting with both soles touching the one in the Heian picture scrolls? If you think about it that way, there are many things that make sense. It is not easy to move to an attack from that cross-legged position. Perhaps it was the position furthest from an attack, so maybe they sat that way in the palace or high-ranking places. And sitting with one knee up is, conversely, a position that makes it easy to move to an attack, and if you have a sword by your side, you can draw and strike as is. If you think about it that way, this is probably a wartime etiquette. Even if both cross-legged and one-knee-up were formal ways of sitting, I feel there is a difference in temperature between them. Apart from that, I didn't know about the three-finger bow or how to open sliding doors, and since it makes sense, I will keep it in mind when writing about this area (but I probably won't write it out again, as detailed descriptions would only confuse the reader).

Regarding "There were village representatives with more power than the magistrate"

The idea that the Tokugawa Edo period was a harsh era is propaganda based on the Meiji government's word hunting. During the Sengoku period, the leaders and their families who lost battles were purged, but the executive retainers were left in a way that they could maintain their income and were absorbed by the shogunate (guarantee of territory). Therefore, the unification of the country was promoted in a short period of time. Since it was impossible to employ all retainers, samurai who were also farmers were ordered to focus on farming, and village official classes such as village heads, landlords, main camps, and village representatives were established. Because of this origin, the village official class was not necessarily lower than the daimyo retainers who were absorbed. The determination of the annual tax using the inspection method (determining the annual tax amount based on the income of each autumn) and the fixed-rate method (determining the annual tax amount based on the average of the past ten years) required the consent of village officials, and if they did not agree, the magistrate could be fired. Farmers before Hideyoshi's sword hunt and Taiko land survey were armed groups, and in exchange for taking away their weapons, their status as landowners was confirmed.
I feel it is becoming a common theory that the Edo period's four-tier class system was a concept concocted by the Meiji government, and that the idea that farmers were placed in extremely difficult lives during the Edo period is propaganda by the Meiji government. By the way, although there are various origins for samurai, it should have been common to conscript and use those who were engaged in agriculture or other occupations around the Sengoku period. There is a story that Oda Nobunaga separated land from soldiers (professional soldierization), but for example, the Hachisuka clan was scouted while doing water transport on the Kiso River, so I have some doubts about whether there was even an awareness of what a "samurai" was or if one was a samurai in the Sengoku period. On the other hand, I lack knowledge about how land ownership relations were in the Muromachi period, so I will look it up if I have time. I have a complete lack of knowledge from the early Heian period to the end of the Sengoku period (since I didn't take Japanese history in the first place).

Regarding "The travel expenses for the Fire and Thief Inspector were paid out of the chief's own pocket"

The range of action of the Fire and Thief Inspector was wide, and Echigo and other places were included in the range of action, but travel expenses were provided by the chief. The chief at the time, Funakoshi, who received a complaint from Echigo, dispatched a police officer to Echigo and captured seven people in a few days, but because no one paid for the expenses to transport them to Edo, the police officers released the thieves and returned to Edo. After Funakoshi negotiated the transportation costs to Edo, he dispatched the police officers again and examined them, and it turned out that the thief group in question was a bodyguard hired by the villages to prevent looting, and the thief group that had been hurt had filed a false complaint, and they had obtained a false confession through torture. Also, regarding the case of Nihonzaemon, etc.
When I heard Niigata, I thought that even modern court jurisdiction for the Kanto High Court goes as far as Niigata and is too far, but it is hard to go to Niigata in the Edo period. If you think about it, it is natural that the Fire and Thief Inspector also did the escort (there is no one else to do it), but it is also like the modern day to transport them to the place where they were sued. But it must be extremely difficult to take them. I don't know much about the income of the Fire and Thief Inspector chief, but I have the impression that there were many gifts, so I wonder if they were able to cover it properly. I don't really understand the revenue and expenditure of the Edo period.

Regarding "There was a time when the Oniwa-ban were not 'shadowy existences'"

Time passed from the Sengoku period when ninjas were active behind the scenes, and as the government became solid, the ninjas who were shadowy existences became successful as hatamoto and built mansions. Yoshimune had them engage in the collection of famine-relief crops in various places in parallel with their secret service duties. In the face of a full-scale famine, the dual role of Oniwa-ban was not enough, so he ordered them to discover civilians, and Aoki Konyo and Tanaka Kyugu (real name Tanaka Kyugu) were appointed. Also, Yoshimune imported many documents other than Christianity to study the weather and carried out various civil engineering works. He changed from the inspection method to the fixed-rate method to reduce the number of officials and diverted people to various fields. By the late Edo period, the Oniwa-ban were active as foreign affairs bureaucrats, acting ahead of the slow-moving shogunate.
There are many parts of the ninja's position that I don't understand, but I saw a book before that stated that after some time had passed in the Edo period, they accompanied the shogun when he went out, and their clothing at that time was also decided. I forgot the title, but I will add it if I remember. By the way, since a ninja is something that hides in the first place, if you follow that main purpose, there shouldn't be any materials left, but in this section, I was rather curious about Yoshimune. I don't know much about the Edo period except for the end of the Edo period... I realize that my image of Yoshimune was only that of the "Abarenbo Shogun."

Regarding "Why is a Japanese sword held with both hands?"

In China and other Asian countries, swords are held with one hand, and the other hand holds a shield or another sword, and in Western swordsmanship, it is the same except for long swords. Since long and heavy swords are held with both hands, there is a theory that they came to be held with both hands because the large swords and field swords of the Northern and Southern Courts period became popular. At that time, bows and arrows, spears, and naginata were used on the battlefield, and when these became unusable, swords were used secondarily, and since the others were two-handed weapons, there is a theory that they came to be held with both hands as well. The birth of large swords and field swords might have been because it was difficult to carry many spears and naginata, so they tried to make one do the job, and swords with blades of three shaku or more appeared to counter spears and naginata. Short swords are basically used with one hand.
I remember seeing a zanbato (Japanese) in person somewhere, and it was so insanely huge that I thought even a monster couldn't hold it with both hands. It seems like it would be bad for stamina even if you swung it on horseback. It is understandable that the two-handed sword became popular from the Northern and Southern Courts to the Sengoku period, and that the trend or school of that time remained until later generations. But I wonder if iai is one-handed, but I have various questions about whether that is a different matter because it is a speed competition to slide the blade. Somehow, I don't think Japanese swordsmanship assumes a shield. Perhaps the sword is not something to be received with a shield, but something to be avoided (shifted?) by body movement, and techniques are built on that premise? But this is a story after it was organized as swordsmanship, and I think it was a blunt instrument in the Sengoku period. I have never done swordsmanship, so I don't know well. Come to think of it, I wrote about a Japanese sword and saber battle before, but I feel like that saber has a much thicker blade than the real one, so I will check it later. Depending on the weapon, the way the center of gravity is placed and the way the body is used, in short, the way of fighting is quite different.

Regarding "Did gun squads defend against bullets with shields made of bundled bamboo?"

There are iron shields with iron plates for anti-gun use, but shields made of bundled bamboo were used as a way to make it difficult to penetrate. When a spherical bullet hits, the trajectory is bent by the fibers, and the penetrating power is lost. Since it is easy to make, it was used in the Siege of Osaka, etc. There is also a device left to use as armor by attaching an iron plate to the inside of a hat. Some martial arts schools use iron fans to knock down shuriken. As a difference between Japanese and Chinese fan techniques, in Japan, Japanese paper is pasted and only the outer ribs are iron, but in China, cloth is pasted and all ribs are made of iron. The usage is also different.
I couldn't get the idea of a shield made of bundled bamboo, so when I looked it up, it looked more like a wall than a shield. Bamboo fences are assembled without gaps to a thickness that hides 3-4 people. Since it took time to reload in the Sengoku period, it might have been somewhat effective. However, since it says spherical bullets, I wonder if it would penetrate with the long, thin cylindrical shapes of modern times. I often hear stories about deflecting balls with iron fans or cutting arrows with swords (strictly speaking, deflecting?), but I wonder if it is something you can see in time. Maybe they identified it by sound. Or killing intent. I want to write about that kind of battle. Combat is good. But I also like the ingenuity to neutralize the enemy and cowardly battles.

Regarding "Commoners and Low-Ranking Samurai Did Not Have Entrances"

Entrances were permitted only for samurai of the upper rank who were allowed to ride horses; they were not permitted for foot soldiers (foot samurai). The concept of an entrance also differs from the modern day; it was essential that when you opened the entrance door, there was a wide dirt floor (doma) with a protruding platform (shikidai), where a palanquin could be pulled up alongside so one could step onto the platform without touching the ground. Ordinary commoners' homes had at most a threshold (kamachi). On the other hand, even among commoners, village heads (nanushi), village officials (shoya), and those at honjin (official inns) were permitted to have entrances, but this is because they were samurai of the horse-riding class during the Sengoku period, and their lifestyle from that time was tolerated.
I feel there is a generational gap in the perception of an entrance compared to modern times, but it is interesting from a perspective I had not paid much attention to. When I looked up thresholds and platforms, it said that a platform is a mid-sized item used to fill the height difference between the threshold and the dirt floor. I am a little unsure if this understanding is correct.

Regarding "The Iron Rule of Not Using Real Names in Formal Settings"

To cast a curse, one needed to know the real name, so real names were hidden in formal settings. For example, Yagyu Munenori became a daimyo who ruled the Yagyu-no-sho in Yamato after serving as So-metsuke, but because he transitioned from Yagyu Mataemon Munenori to Yagyu Tajima-no-kami Munenori, one had to call him "Mataemon-dono" or, after he was appointed Tajima-no-kami, "Tajima-no-kami-dono." Since there is only one person in a position at any given time, if there was an overlap, the person of lower rank would change their title. For example, Nagai Naoyuki (a hatamoto) was appointed Genba-no-kami, but when Tanuma Okutaka (a daimyo) was appointed Genba-no-kami, the lower-ranking Nagai was transferred to Mondo-no-kami, and when Tanuma was dismissed, he returned to Genba-no-kami, changing his title each time. Also, the deceased are called by their posthumous Buddhist names; when referring to Yoshimune after his death, he is called "Yutokuin-sama." When a daimyo's wife dies, she enters the priesthood and receives a posthumous name, so she is called by that name. Matsura Seizan of the Kashi Yawa is formally Matsura Iki-no-kami Kiyoshi, but Seizan is a posthumous name given during his lifetime, and his full posthumous name is Hokoinden Seizan Ryusui Daikoji.
This is the kind of thing that really makes reading literature difficult. Like, who is this Ishikawa Iki-no-kami? I wonder if there is a chronological correspondence table somewhere if I look for it. Someone, please make a searchable database! Also, while the status relationships like 'shi-no-ko-sho' did not exist, the hierarchy within the samurai class, such as between daimyo and hatamoto, was quite strict, yet they would often make flexible arrangements out of consideration in ways that are hard to understand, so it is truly complicated. Come to think of it, a person called the late Matsudaira Zushu appears in Kashi Yawa, but since he is 'the late,' he should be dead, yet he is called by his official title from when he was alive. I wonder if calling them by their posthumous name is colloquial and different in writing; various naming issues are troublesome. Well, in the Heian period, names often don't remain at all, so it is better than that.

Summary

Overall, there were many perspectives I hadn't noticed, and I learned a lot. In the end, I read the whole thing (this pattern has been frequent lately). That said, the Edo period was long, and there are many parts where it is unclear whether things applied to all eras or if they differed as in the aforementioned documents. So, I think it is important to look things up yourself each time, but being able to notice that something is strange is also a matter of experience. It is quite difficult.
If you ask whether it can be used for novels, I think it is worth reading through if you are depicting the Edo period. Also, if you are writing about samurai, I thought you should really practice martial arts. There are parts where you intuitively feel a sense of discomfort regarding how the body moves and such. But if it is a light novel, it seems 'clink clink clink clink' is fine, so I feel it is not necessary (I cannot deny that I have no intention of mocking it, but since what people want to see is different, this is fine as it is).

4. Conclusion

Actually, there are parts where I wonder if it is really true. I won't point out where, but there are. So, if you are going to write something quite serious, you should really look it up yourself, but I think if you start relying on AI, this intuition will not grow at all. I am not an AI-denier at all, and I think of it as stationery, so I think you should just use it, but I started to think this country might be in trouble after Ki no Tsurayuki appeared as a female writer at the top of Google a while ago. Sometimes there are people on Twitter who act arrogant based on what AI said, but since AI does not present the correct answer but only the perception of the majority, it is a bit scary.
Next time is Berthold Laufer's 'The Potato: A Compilation of Its Spread'.
See you tomorrow! Probably!

★Books with similar themes
This is about customs and the Meiji era, so it is quite different, but my collection has overwhelmingly more books about the Meiji era than the Edo period, so it cannot be helped.

★List of magazines

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