Socyberty » historical fiction

Character Interpretations From The Sengoku Period

Tue, 29 May 2012 10:35:14 +0000

Character interpretations of historical figures have been popular in various forms of fiction. Feudal Japan is rife with intriguing men and women for popular media to exploit. Here is a very brief synopsis of four famous figures from the Warring States period of Japan as well as various character designs from two different Japanese publishers. Which character design or interpretation do you prefer?

Oichi

Oichi is the cherished younger sister of daimyo (territorial lord) Oda Nobunaga from the Sengoku or Warring States period of Japanese history. She was known for her resolve as well as her beauty. Her husband was Azai Nagamasa, a rival warlord of Nobunaga. They had five children together, including three daughters who married well – Yodo-dono, Ohatsu and Oeyo. She’s often depicted as a loyal and chaste young woman.

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A youthfully cheerful Oichi from the Samurai Warriors series by Koei.

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A melancholy Oichi from the Sengoku Basara series by Capcom.

Azai Nagamasa

Azai Nagamasa was a rival daimyo to Oda Nobunaga as well as his brother-in-law during the Sengoku period of Japan. His marriage to Nobunaga’s sister Oichi was arranged by Nobunaga to create an alliance between the Oda and Azai clans. Nagamasa ultimately betrays Nobunaga for his abuse of power. He’s usually portrayed as an honorable warrior always seeking justice.

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A blond Azai Nagamasa from the Samurai Warriors series by Koei.

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A raven-haired Azai Nagamasa from the Sengoku Basara series by Capcom.

Nouhime

Nouhime was the wife of daimyo Oda Nobunaga and sister-in-law to Oichi during the Sengoku period of Japan. Her father was daimyo Saito Dosan. She was known for her beauty, intelligence and quick-wit. Her marriage to Nobunaga was a political gesture and believed to be a loveless one. Plus she wasn’t able to bare him any children, leading to the speculation that she was barren. Legends abound that she was actually a spy or an assassin for her father Dosan. She’s often portrayed as a femme fatale in popular culture.

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A dual claw-wielding Nouhime from the Samurai Warriors series by Koei.

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A dual gun-toting Nouhime from the Sengoku Basara series by Capcom.

Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga is a famous 16th century warlord and initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate – a feudal government of military dictatorship under the name of the shogun (hereditary military dictator). His military opus was succeeded and fulfilled by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Nobunaga conquered a third of Japan before his death in June of 1582, having lived a life of endless military conquest. His wife was Nouhime, also known as Lady Noh. He also had two concubines, one of them named Kitsuno, who bore him three children. She was often believed to be his favorite concubine and even thought to have a higher position than his wife. One of his living modern descendants is Oda Nobunari, a professional figure skater. In popular culture he’s often portrayed as a ruthless and villainous revolutionist.

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A sword-wielding Oda Nobunaga from the Samurai Warriors series by Koei.

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A sword and shotgun-toting Oda Nobunaga from the Sengoku Basara series by Capcom.

(Wow. Look at all the one-note comments I’ve received. How depressing.)

Review: Waterfall (River of Time, #1) by Lisa T. Bergen

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:08:24 +0000

Review: Waterfall (River of Time, #1) by Lisa T. Bergen

What do you do when your knight in shining armor lives, literally, in a different world?

Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Betarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives among the romantic hills with their archaelogist parents. Stuck among the rubble of the medieval castles in rural Tuscany, on yet another hot, dusty archaeological site, Gabi and Lia are bored out of their minds…until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces.

Suddenly Gabi’s summer in Italy is much, much more interesting.

Waterfall was a wonderful start to a great series. I had heard and seen a lot about this series and have been wanting to read it forever. Gabi had a nice voice that echoed in my ears when I read. Her entrance into the past was unexpected and thunderous, but she took to it well. Meeting Marcello after being dropped through time wasn’t that bad either. He invites her into his home to rest, but Gabi really has to find her sister, Lia. She is not like any woman the men have met and even though she’s in the past, she never becomes or plays a weak girl. I loved Marcello. He was a gentleman, but strong and forceful when it came the time. He was not shy at all and when he feels something between he and Gabi, he confronts her outright and tells her about himself. Though, the past isn’t as easy as I make it sound and Gabi and Marcello must fight to be safely together. In the end, I was sad to turn the last page of this book and see Marcello and Gabi go, but am ecstatic to read the next books!

Death of Julius Caesar

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 18:34:36 +0000

Dear Diary,

Today is the ides of March. There is a meeting at the capitol today and all the senators are going to be there. Caesar is supposed to be attending, but his nagging wife may yet keep him home. I wish the best for those two, but Julius needs an heir and …. May not be able to give him that. I am afraid of what will happen today because a lot of peculiar things have happened recently. I was making my way home from a night on the town and I saw a group of people garbed in black walking the street. I don’t know what they were doing but I can’t imagine it was any good. I’m not sure I saw them though. I did have a little too much wine. That same night when I was getting dinner, I overheard two men talking about a dream that Casca had. Apparently Casca had a dream with a bunch of bad omens that convinced him to not go through with the “plan”, whatever this plan is, I do not know. Then just now, as I ride to the capitol, I saw Antimedorus. He had a letter in has hand and a determined look in his eye. I wonder what he’s up to. I also don’t know what Brutus has been doing. Lately he seemed torn between something, maybe a decision of some sorts. I do not know. I shall ask him about it today. I may be able to help him with whatever he needs to decide. It may be about his relationship with Portia. There marriage has seemed a little bit strained recently. I only hope that this meeting goes well and that my suspicions about Cassius remain untrue, otherwise there may be trouble yet.

Dear Diary,

A great tragedy has befallen Rome. Caesar was killed by a group of conspirators. I knew I should not have dismissed my suspicions so quickly. Maybe if I had been less quick to judge I may have prevented this unfortunate event. He was stabbed so many times that I lost count. I was horrified. I have seen battle but never have I seen a man killed with such hatred and ferociousness. I almost don’t believe it has happened because even Brutus, who I thought the most loyal of us all to Caesar, stabbed him with as much ferocity as any of the conspirators. Alas, I can do nothing now and I have tried to make the best of the situation. First I had to win over Brutus and the conspirators. Next, after I was allowed to speak at Caesars funeral by Brutus, I riled up the crowd into frenzy. They were terrifying. I thought they were going to kill me! I won them over by saying how much Caesar loved them and how he left them his land in his will. This was a fake will of course, but the people will demand land because they know no better. This all was after Brutus’s speech, which won over the crowd, but I won them back. The enraged crowd chased the conspirators out of the city. On the way they killed a man named Cinna, even though he was not Cinna the conspirator, because they were so riled up. All these events fell into place and now that Octavius, Caesars grand nephew, is coming to Rome, we can further discuss our plans for Rome. Without a ruler or rulers Rome will fall into anarchy. I intend to rule Rome with Octavius and maybe another loyal Roman, since there are almost no senators left in Rome. They all fled because of their part in the conspiracy. I guess we shall see what tomorrow brings.

Sincerely,

Mark Antony

Dear Diary,

Rome has fallen back into order. Octavius, Lepidus and I have formed a triumvirate that we are using to rule Rome. Our first order of business has been to root out the rest of the conspirators and all that may oppose us. I don’t think Lepidus has leadership qualities and is not fit to rule. I may have to find a way to get rid of him in the near future. Maybe he will die in this battle between Rome and the conspirator armies of Brutus and Cassius. At the moment my army beating Cassius’s army and Octavius is losing to Brutus. Speaking of Octavius he seems to want to be called by his surname, Caesar, instead of his forename, Octavius. According to my spies there has been some trouble in the enemy camp. Cassius and Brutus were seen arguing and, according to the spy, it got pretty heated. I hope this will help us win. If there is conflict within there camp this campaign may be easier than I thought, but only time will tell. One other thing that may help us win is the death of Portia, Brutus’s wife. If Brutus is in mourning, than his troops morale may break more easily. A disheartened leader is never a good one. Sincerely,

Mark Antony

Number The Stars- Summary

Sun, 06 Mar 2011 15:02:38 +0000

Number the Stars, a historical fiction took place in Denmark during World War II. It had four very exciting and intense parts. Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her friend Ellen bumped into two German soldiers standing on the sidewalk. The Germans eyed them, but let them by. Four three years now the Germans had invaded Denmark and German soldiers stood watch on every street corner. The second encounter took place in the Johansen’s apartment. They hid Ellen amongst their family because she was a Jew. Ellen’s parents had been forced to flee to avoid being “relocated”. The German soldiers questioned Ellen and her so called parents suspiciously, but could find no proof that they were lying. Later, German soldiers investigated Annemarie’s Uncle’s house where many Jews had gathered for a pretend funeral. The German captain said he wanted to see the corpse to make sure they weren’t lying. Annemarie’s mother bluffed that she would love to see her pretend late Aunt just once more even though the Aunt still carried the contagious disease typhus. The German soldier quickly stopped her and left. The last encounter with the German soldiers took place when all the Jews who had been at the pretend funeral were smuggled into a hiding place on Annemarie’s uncle’s boat, Ellen and her parents who had fled to the uncle’s house where there too. Unfortunately, a small package was left behind at the house, what it contained was important. Annemarie hid it under the napkin of a basket filled with bread and fruit and ran into the city where the boat was docked. Two soldiers stopped her. They had two dogs. The dogs smelled something in the basket. One of the soldiers took the bread out, but the dogs didn’t stop barking. The fruit was taken next. To Annemarie’s horror, they lifted the napkin revealing the small package. The soldier ripped it open, but it only revealed a small handkerchief. The soldier laughed, dropped the handkerchief and continued on his way. Annemarie took the handkerchief to the boat. She learned later that the Germans were using dogs to smell out other humans hidden away in the boats. The handkerchief attracted the dogs. All fishermen now had them. When the dogs sniffed them, their smelling senses were temporarily dulled making it near impossible to smell any humans.

This book really emphasized the stress that the characters had to carry. I saw how each character’s personality affected the way that character chose to shoulder this stress. The characters seemed very real since they acted how real people would behave in the same situation. The Johansen family was a very brave family and put themselves in danger in order to save their Jewish friends from being “relocated”.

The most real parts of the book to me were the encounters with the German soldiers. The soldiers were very vivid in the novel and you could really believe the stomp of their boots and their harsh accents. I can see now how brutal they really were.

I was quite surprised the way the book ended. I didn’t see much foreshadowing until right at the end. There was a lot of hidden foreshadowing that you wouldn’t notice until you got to the end of the book. The only thing I might have added may have been a little afterward at the end about when the two friends, Annemarie and Ellen, meet each other again years in the future. That may be controversial because on the other hand, not saying when they meet adds a little mystery to the story and gives you some space to think about what would happen next.

A Woman’s Right to Vote

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 12:10:26 +0000

My Granddad, Frank, Sr., believed in the democratic process, voted in every election, and was so dedicated to the voting process that he became a certified polling booth volunteer at his local precinct, the Thelma Elementary School in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. He instructed the voters on the proper procedure of casting their ballots in every local, state, and federal election. He continued to volunteer his time to the community in this way for over twenty-five years.

But Grandmother believed in the democratic process too, and often canceled out his liberal vote by her conservative vote. This was the only sore spot in their relationship but when it came to politics, they both drew a distinct line in the sand and never wavered. Beatrice was very proud of a woman’s right to vote and she exercised this God given right religiously, sometimes at the expense of her husband’s peace of mind.

For instance, during the presidential election between democratic nominee, Adalai Stevenson and the republican nominee, Ike Eisenhower, you would have thought the north and the south had gotten into it all over again. Grandmother was a conservative northerner from Detroit, but oddly enough supported a southerner, Republican candidate General Ike Eisenhower! This was her conviction and she stood by her candidate.

Granddad, on the other hand, was a southern Democrat, in favor of a definite Yankee, named Adalai Stephenson. It went against their personal “grain” to be so divided over an issue because they were so appropriately matched in their personal relationship and life-long marriage of forty-two years. Some evenings their kiss goodnight was postponed until the wee hours of the morning because they would have long, passionate debates about their “man.” History shows that Grandmother put her man in office that year, for General Ike Eisenhower won the presidential election for four years. But Granddad never did stop volunteering at the voting booth, and he never, ever stopped voting his conscience. Back in those days, people saw that voting was a privilege not to be taken lightly, even at the expense of marital bliss! But their marriage was remarkably resilient and they forgave each other before they turned out the light.