Sukiyaki Western Django - Extended Blog Post

Have you ever seen a good old gun slinging, horse riding, gold mining and sheriff shooting wild-west film?
“Yes.”
Have you ever seen a good old gun slinging, horse riding, gold mining and Japanese shooting wild-west film?
“Wait, what? Japanese?”
Yes, Japanese.

‘Sukiyaki Western Django’, Directed by Takashi Miike, 2007, is a film that really showcases the theory of Asianisation in Hollywood. If we look at it from a point of view where any previous study or influence is being taken into consideration – It’s a Japanese Western Film. This is a bit of an odd concept to fathom because the idea of western cowboys comes from the western culture of America. Not an Asian country like Japan.

I don’t want to get too stuck into re-telling the story. But just to familiarise yourself with the film if you haven’t seen it, here’s a quick briefing of it. It’s very similar to previous western cowboy films.

Basically, legend has it that the town of Yuta, in Nevata, is sitting on top of a gold mine. The Heikei (the Reds) invade the town to hunt for the gold and take the treasure for their own. A few months later, the Genji (the Whites) claim half of the town and they are in constant war with the reds.
A lone Gunman, without a name, ventures into the town in search for the gold. Rather than living with any of the clans, he rests at an old ladies house with her grandson. Eventually, war wages between the two clans over the treasure and the battle between the reds and whites kills everyone. The old lady turned out to be the legendary gun slinger that was thought to be dead. And the treasure was left by the lone gunman to the grandson.

 

If you didn’t completely understand the summary, not to worry, I’m not writing this to review the film. Rather, I’m writing this to explain how this film is one of the greatest examples of the theory of Asianisation in Hollywood.

When I first heard about this film when I was studying the term Asianisation, I came across it and thought “this might be interesting to see… A Japanese version of Django. Probably some stupid voiceover just like Iron Chef”. But to my surprise after viewing the film for myself, I really saw it as a genuine western film with a twist. Not only did it follow the codes and conventional ideas that we already know make “cowboys” but Miike took it a step further and blended it with the codes and conventional ideas that we know samurais to be.

First of all, we need to establish that the film was premiered in 2007 at the International Film festival in Toronto. The reason why we need to clarify that is because it wasn’t made in America or by an American director. International film festivals usually showcase films that relate to the cultures and lifestyle of other nations.

For example, a Chinese film would be in Cantonese, based in China with Chinese actors.

Sukiyaki Western Django went somewhat against the grain. It was an international film, by a Japanese director, in English, played by Japanese actors. It doesn’t fit the conventional genre of international films that we know. We need to keep in mind that this is an international film.

Christina Klein’s article “Martial arts and the globalization of US and Asian film industries” focuses on the idea of globalization through film. One of her first examples, is the use of martial arts in American films. Martial Arts is a traditional eastern form of fighting and culture, however it is idolized in the American film industry because of how it looks.

She writes, “Martial arts fight scenes have become a ubiquitous feature in action films across the genre map, from science fiction (The Matrix, 1999) to vampire (Blade II, 2002) to super- hero (Daredevil, 2003) to video game (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, 2001) to girl’s empowerment (Charlie’s Angels, 2000) to costume drama (The Last Samurai, 2003). Children’s films (Shrek, 2001) and teen comedies (Scary Movie, 2000) use martial arts to generate knowing laughs, while an independent film like Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: the Way of the Samurai (1999) uses them for existential musing.” (Klein, 2004)

We all know these movies, and we can see that from karate kid to the matrix and the epic martial arts fighting scenes are one of the things we remember.

Relating it back to ‘Sukiyaki Western Django’ does the complete opposite of what Klein explained in that example. We’re used to seeing the influence of eastern culture in American Films, but how often have we seen the influence of Western Culture in Asian Films. Quite honestly, very often but not in such a way that Takashi Miike has done it in this film.What he has done is created a film that has been redone countless times in American culture and has ‘Asianized’ it.  It’s a complete 180 degrees of the American film industry. He has taken western culture and made it into a Japanese film.

If you need more convincing… for goodness sakes, the movie is set in a town called Yuta, in Nevata. Sounds to me like the American states… Utah and Nevada. Which are right next to each other anyway. The idea of asianisation in Hollywood really comes through here because when the scenery is set in a desert with snakes and eagles. Personally, I thought it was the American desert straight away. But we learn that it is a fictional scene. The main example of Asianisation of Hollywood was taking the idea of what we know Cowboys to be – and completely twisting that.

These cowboys still had pistols and flared pants, but they also had Katanas and bow and arrows – just like a samurai would. However, Miike down plays the role of the samurai in this film by in fact mocking them. Two scenes in the film focuses on that directly as the leader of the whites preaches to his team that the way of the Samurai is finished and they are in a new era. The other scene, is where the leader of the reds attacks his own soldier for calling him by his traditional Japanese name, and would rather be called Hen-Ray after reading Shakespeare and making it his new bible.

Klein talks about Hollywood hiring actors and workers from Asian countries, such as Jackie Chan and Jet Li. “As the Hollywood studios became increasingly export-oriented they began hiring a broad range of Asian film workers, from big-name stars to anonymous skilled craftspeople; sometimes these workers came to Holly- wood, and other times Hollywood went to them.” (Klein, 2004). The second part of that quote, where she says ‘sometimes Hollywood went to them’ is an eye opener when you watch this film.

A somewhat famous director that goes by the name of Quentin Tarantino stars in this film.

SOMEWHAT FAMOUS?! This guy is Hollywood royalty.

We know that Tarantino plays roles in films that he produces or just admires. Such as: Django Unchained, Pulp Fiction, Desperado and many more. But he has only ever stared in two films made in the Asian Film industry. One, being Jackie Chan: My story (directed by Jackie Chan) and two, Sukiyaki Western Django.

 

This example works in harmony with Klein’s statement that sometimes ‘Hollywood went to them’.

Tarantino once referred Miike as the ‘Godfather of ultraviolent movies” which is why I believe Tarantino agreed to play a role in this film.

Not only did Tarantino’s role eventually unfold to be one of the most important characters in the unveiling of the story, but he did so in such a way that Tarantino humbled himself before a well-respected Japanese director. It’s a great example of globalization through film, because here we have to amazing directors that collaborate in such a way that both people are working with each other.

The idea of Asianisation in western culture has always been evident through the film industry since the 1970’s. Fight scenes in hundreds of American films loved by many have been influenced by the eastern culture of martial arts. This is also a revolution that is not only happening to America, but is also happening to the other party in this situation. Asian films are and always have been becoming more westernized. This is a form of globalization that we can literally view because in relation to films, different cultures have their own views on how things should be. The traditional Spaghetti Western film has been taken by a Japanese Actor and has been infused with Japanese Culture while still holding the codes and conventions that we see in those films.

Thank-you for taking the time to read this post.

Reference List:

Klein, Christina 2004, ‘Martial arts and globalisation of US and Asian film industries’, Comparative America Studies, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 360-384