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Comment by helsinkiandrew | Hacker News Reader

> The two men glide through Tokyo’s bustling Ikebukuro district in full-length samurai outfits, while wielding objects that look like swords.

I didn't know samurai wore denim coats, leather boots and fedora hats!

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Samurai were abolished in the 1870's during the Meiji era. It was a gradual process. The Samurai were converted to a new social class called Shizoku which loosely translates to 'Warrior families'

I know it's disappointing, sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

As a consolation, maybe "there was a 22 year window in which a samurai could have sent a fax to Abraham Lincoln" https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/2154725-a-samurai-could-have...

Related to how Dracula could drink Coke and play Nintendo:

https://twitter.com/lunasorcery/status/1271537553842323463

did abraham lincoln have a fax machine? google is clogged fully of reposts of the tweet, but I suspect not. At minimum the samurai would probably have to cross the ocean and send the fax from mainland US, right?

> The Gatling gun is a rapid-firing multiple-barrel firearm invented in 1861 by Richard Jordan Gatling.

So we have a short window for a very accurate historical novel …

It wasn't that smooth:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Ctsu_incident

Interesting article, but non sequitur I think. While Tsuda Sanzō was born into a Samurai family, he was not Samurai.

I do completely agree that it was not a smooth time period by any means.

It was him witnessing the Samurai rebellion being crushed that motivated him to this act.

Just to put in context how weird this is: a Russian royal got attacked and left with a permanent scar because of the domestic policy of Japan.

Ah yes. Well, very slow fuse. He participated in suppressing the samurai uprising in 1877. Ōtsu incident was in 1891. I'm sure there were many other contributing factors. Thanks for explaining.

So United States Commodore Matthew C. Perry came to Japan in 1853, with a show of might, to open Japan to outside trade. This led to Japan phasing away Samurai culture in favor of Western law. And the Imperial Military seeking military advances. This led to more political prowess at the Versailles Treat. And gave Japanese Empire a taste of neo-imperialism called colonization. That led to WW2 and finally the atomic bomb.

I see a trend.

I love those outfits. They're a great bit of cultural fusion. Denim has always been popular for workwear, and it's interesting to see it in a kimono cut.

I'd watch that anime.

Have you seen Samurai Champloo?

Genuinely recommend seeing it if you haven't already. Such a great show!

They do now.

I have seen fedora hat samurais at Comic con

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