Samurai Kitty

I have discovered that virtually every nation on the planet has produced expensive epics of the great military glories of their past and if there is even one computer literate representative of that nation, they have put it on You Tube (you should see the one from Bulgaria!).

Well, being a military historian I just couldn't resist spending a few hours this week watching a few, starting with "The Immortal Lee Soon Shin" from Korea. Lee Soon Shin, or better, Yi Sun Sin, was a spectacularly successful Korean admiral who repelled the Japanese invasions of Korea in the 1590s. The movie is a made for TV epic that most have cost a bundle.

All the Koreans are noble, calm and dignified, even when under great stress. The Japanese are strutting and gloating until they find themselves surrounded and outgunned. Then they are pop-eyed, stuttering and howling. In fact the acting style for both the Koreans and the Japanese seems to be heavily influenced by old samurai epics.

Which brings me to Samurai Kitty. You have to watch a fairly long clip here which illustrates what I was saying. Then, towards the end, the Black Samurai with the really big horns starts acting a little funny. Suddenly, you see a fluffy white cat. And nothing else.

If anyone out there can understand Korean, please tell me and Carmen what the hell that cat is doing on a Japanese battle ship.

And if you want to see what an early modern naval battle between Japanese and Koreans looks like, click here.