'Real' last samurai fights for attention

[Hachiko]

Would you believe it...there actually is a non-Japanese samurai living right now! Here is an article on the man from the Japan Times:

Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe may be raking in big box-office bucks as The Last Samurai, but a rival claimant to the title has emerged in the unlikely form of a sword-wielding British TV producer.
Karl Beattie, 36, from Stockport in England, has sensationally laid claim to being the only living samurai outside of Japan, and says that he is one of only eight foreigners to have ever been awarded the title.

Beattie's story has provoked a flurry of coverage in the British media, but anger among martial arts enthusiasts, who are furious at what they say is a con trick that may undermine the credibility of their pursuit.

Japan Times

 

[Ewok85]

Hah, that guys a bit nuts, judt having some armour and swords dont make you a samurai

 

[Mandylion]

If you want a taste of how other sites are treating this guy, as mentioned in the Japan Times, have a look here - As of the 5th, the thread had some 43 replies

http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30001&highlight=Last+Samurai

There is also a link to an article in a British newspaper on him that gives a few more details (and further serves to undermine him). I have posted a picture said to be of the man in question - while we shouldn't judge a person by his looks, he sure seems like a goon.

 

[MikeM]

okay... first of all I never caught into the obsession of people wanting be samurais and drooling over samurais.

the guy is a wannabe and he needs to do something with his life. seriously.

 

[Mandylion]

I think I like this picture better...

If he is a samurai, then I get to be a viking.

 

[Timsan]

samurais dont exist ANYWHERE. Not in japan, not some pasty whiney brit, not in america, NOWHERE. people might study kendo or other sword arts but samurais fought in battles for pay and lived life in such a way that would be impossible to mimick in modern times. retarded

 

[Old School]

I have a few shuriken and I can wrap a black t-shirt around my head. I guess I'm a ninja (or ninjerk).

 

[Maciamo]

Originally posted by Timsan
samurais dont exist ANYWHERE. Not in japan, not some pasty whiney brit, not in america, NOWHERE. people might study kendo or other sword arts but samurais fought in battles for pay and lived life in such a way that would be impossible to mimick in modern times. retarded

I agree. Samurai need to serve a lord, otherwise they become "ronin" ﾋ弉ﾂ人. On top of that, be a samurai does not just mean waging war and serve one's lord, but be part of the social class of the warrior, the highest of the 4 Japanese social classes that ended with the restauration of Meiji. And finally, for those arguing that samurai were still recognised as such, and were respected as the noblemen they were during Meiji and later, the Americans have abolished once and for all the entire nobility system in the aftermath of WWII. Thus there can't be anybody recognised as samurai nowadays, Japanese or foreign.

How comes the man claims being of the only 8 foreigners to have been awarded the title, when he is only 36 and the nobility system had been abolished before he was born ? I could have understood if an octogenarian had made that claim, but him...

 

[Zero-sen]

Okaaaaaaaaaayyyyy so he's met his highness the Emperror of Japan has he??? Forgive my scepticism here but, if the Imperial household have said they've never heard of him then i think that speaks for itself!!

 

[Shinmeiryu]

What a fraud...

I would have to assume he's just seeking whatever attention he can grab from the media or he's just being ridiculous and mocking tradition at the same time.

 

[Xkavar]

Perhaps Mr. Beattle would be better off seeking knighthood from Buckingham Palace. That might have both real ceremonial and practical benefits to his position.

 

[Mike Cash]

Finally, something sadder than Japan-obsession based on anime overdosing.

 

[Glenn]

Are you happy about that, mike? I would think that you wouldn't want things to get worse, but you seem to be enjoying this.

 

[Maciamo]

The person usually considered to be the true last samurai in Japan is Saigo Takamori, a Satsuma samurai who became a Meiji statesman, but launch a rebellion against the Meiji government in 1877 when his plan to invade Korea was rejected. He committed suicide when his samurai army was defeated by the Imperial troops.

 

[nuovo]

He is my brother.

 

[Mike Cash]

Are you happy about that, mike? I would think that you wouldn't want things to get worse, but you seem to be enjoying this.

What's that old expression? "Never miss a chance to laugh. You'll have more than enough chances to cry."

He's a nut, but a harmless one. And it tickles me to see people with (to me) equally laughable Japan obsessions ragging on him.

 

[Areku]

Not in japan, not some pasty whiney brit, not in america, NOWHERE.

britain > america

 

[Glenn]

Britain is greater than America?

 

[Maciamo]

Britain is greater than America?

Well of course, why should it be called Great Britain.

 

[Glenn]

Well of course, why should it be called Great Britain.

I figured someone would say that. Anyway, I was just trying to figure out what this meant:

britain > america

 

[remember_august]

"I think it is better to be samurai when you are playing 'Samurai Warrior' on ps2, but I bet being a real samurai could be quite ......exciting?"said stupid little Mackie

 

[Apollo]

Hah, that guys a bit nuts, judt having some armour and swords dont make you a samurai

I agree...I was surprised to know that he was even regarded a samurai. He just is a wanna-be in need of attention...and the media has given him attention.

 

[Xkavar]

Actually, no. Rereading the article and the forums, I have to wonder:

Instead of swearing his life and loyalty to the dubious will of the Japanese Imperial Family, why not pledge to an organization that needs it? Like the United Nations?

 

[King of Tokyo]

If anything were to happen in Japan, aside from being at war with Britain I'd have to drop everything and go and protect the emperor.

Hahahaha... This guy is great...

 

[DragonChan]

"I once had a rather fat policeman want to fight me," he recalls.

"That was quite comical, as he was clearly in no shape to fight a cold, let alone a world fighting champion.

"When these things happen, you think to yourself, I could tweak a nerve and render you unconscious within a tenth of a second, but they don't know that.

"So you just have to put up with these sad individuals every now and then."

This amuses me for some reason. I don't know if it's because of the way he stereotypes policemen, boosts his own ego, or just puts himself above everybody else.

I think it's highly unlikely that he really is a samurai, but I will say that he could probably beat the crap out of me.