| Samurai Movies (41) |
July 21, 2022
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| [Rochu 8] In the story of 'Tenka Gomen', Gennai was targeted to be assassinated. The mastermind was the father of a son who could be the next shogun. The mastermind had killed the present Shogun's son, and because of this, his son got the chance to be the next Shogun. He knew this was not fiction. In the Edo Period, there were some cases which were suspected to have been assassinations. Actually, some of his han's daimyos' candidates were suspected to have been assassinated. It was not only the Shoguns and daimyos and their candidates, but others who wielded powers as well. Actually, Tanuma Okitsugu's son was said to have been assassinated by people who were afraid of his power. In the story, Gennai was targeted because he found out that the reason of the Shogun's son's death was poisoning. He was close to Okitsugu, now the No.1 rochu, and he had knowledge about medical herbs. Gennai advised Okitsugu, saying that the mastermind's next target would be the present Shogun, who was still 50 years old. Gennai asked Gennpaku to be an assistant doctor of the Shogun to help out Okitsugu. Gennai said, "The opponents aren't trying  to defeat Tanuma Okitsugu himself, but to defeat 'the Tanuma Era', which wants to stop closing the country, have freedom of study, business, culture, etc." His medical book could be published in that 'Tanuma Era'. But, Genpaku declined, saying that if so, he should hurry to translate and publish. In the last episode, Gennai was about to be killed, and his friends advised him to escape from Edo. But he said that he wouldn't move, because what they were aiming for wasn't a person's life but freedom. Now, new fresh air was about to come in, but, some people, the samurai, were afraid of it. They were afraid of people who would wake up with freedom. They were hoping citizens were sleeping as innocent people. Gennai suggested to Tanuma Okitsugu to do drastic thing: to open this country. If not, his administration would be defeated by the mastermind and his group. Okitsugu got the permission from the Shogun about the opening. He ordered each department of the government to make plans to how to deal with the opening. But it was too late. The mastermind had won over a samurai who prepared the Shogun's meal, and the Shogun died by poisoning. Actually, in history books, the Shogun was assassinated by, not the mastermind, but by Okitsugu himself. He was imprisoned after the death of the Shogun, and died by sickness two years later. Some researchers said that the mastermind, Matsudaira Harusada, was involved in all of these matters. In the story, Gennai and other members escaped from this country by using a hot-air balloon which Gennai made. Gennai shouted from the balloon in the air, "I will be back some day!" In the next scene, they were in Paris, the hot air-balloon was caught on a spire of a church. In the last scene, there was a parade of the French Revolution, there was Gennai in the parade. The French Revolution was said to have started in 1889, and Gennai was said to have died in 1890, so it could have happened, he thought. (To be continued ...) |
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No.487
*assassinate :暗殺する
*mastermind :黒幕
*suspect :疑う
*wield :（権力などを）ふるう
*opponent :敵
*administration :政治、政府
*spire :尖塔