Devoted to Corporate Attorneys, Corporate Lawyers, and Corporate Counsel

The Last Samurai was a movie starring Tom Cruise released several years ago to give a story about the transition of Japan into the modern industrial world in the late 1800s.  Though fiction, the movie may provide some insight into Japanese history and values.  Those attorneys interfacing with Japan in business and legal contracts might consider The Last Samurai as a movie to watch to practice Japanese and learn about Japanese culture. The Last Samurai depicted the industrial growth of Japan, and the accepting of what the west offered. 

The samurai fought with arrows, swords, and were no longer needed when the United States trained the Japanese into modern armies.  The samurai seemed to be ready to die each day, making them ready to live in the moment each morning.  Tom Cruise’s character wrote how they got up every day to do everything in precision.  Though war could strike any minute, they were able to have night time stories and laughter out in the open, take baths in the springs, streams.  The soldiers accepted death by their own hands when in defeat.