People study things that are not themselves. Crazy, I know.

ok new list is here!

go.bsky.app/6TE7o75

Ooof, sorry. What viewers in Japan are used to hearing as authentic historical dialogue . . .

....as authentic historical dialogue based on Taiga drama, they became less interested and cut the whole conversation. I think the language used in the show is an entirely pragmatic compromise, a bit like using "Thee" and "Thou" and a British accent to signify "the past" in Anglophone dramas.

Interesting! In the interview I did, the main focus initially was on the supposed authenticity of the language. But when my comments were clearly dismissing any notion of historical authenticity, and instead emphasized that what Sanada had done was introduce some of what viewers in Japan (cont)

(Sorry my mind is on my books, obviously! “Read” in my comments above should be “watch.”)

Indeed, some viewers of this show have said that it is unrealistic, and it gets many things wrong based not on any kind of historical research but on watching Taiga dramas. TV genre and the historical past are thus fundamentally mistaken for one another and, perhaps we could say, misremembered.

The contrast with the historical epics that regularly appear on Japanese television is an interesting and an important one. Because those shows shape the understanding of history and indeed the historical imagination of viewers in ways that are sort of pernicious. Those are works of art too.

And I think it put something in the world that is useful for Japanese historians. But it’s hardly required reading. I will note that I have heard something similar to your reaction from some friends and colleagues in Japan, who have managed to see it.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the experience of trying to watch the series! I agree that if you don’t like it, you don’t need to read it. I’m not sure I like it either. But I did watch it because it connects so directly to my research and teaching.