Nihon Ja Themes
Fiction: a genre favored by billions of people because of its diversity and colorful characters. The worlds that spring up from this genre are endless. The book The Emperor of Nihon-Ja is no exception. Written by John Flanagan, this story is about a civil war in the fictional country of Nihon-Ja. All these characters and events are full of courageous acts, heroic sacrifices, and loyalty to certain people. These traits and actions are some of the most common forms in fiction, but what happens in stories isn’t always fictitious. Real life events, people, and places have a lot of similarities to the wonderful world of fiction. They can have similar personalities or have the same ways of doing something. To finish up, the resulting characteristics that have been dug up will tie the knot
…show more content…
between reality its fictional counterpart. In The Emperor of Nihon-Ja, the Kikori, a tucked away group of woodworkers, are taught a variety of different war strategies in order to fight the traitorous war general, Arisaka. According to General Sapristi of the Toscan army, the originators of the war strategy, “Our troops just plow forward, jabbing and stabbing at anything they see on the other side of their shields” (Flanagan). In the story, General Sapristi dubs these groups of soldiers as legions. This word should ring a bell for some people because that is what the Romans called a group of one hundred men at arms. The Romans also had large shields meant for protecting men from any kind of attack and creating a shield fortress when necessary. The Toscan army and the Roman army wore the same armor and used the same plans of dominating the enemy. In fact, their languages were very similar, along with their area of living. Toscan is south of Araluen, which resembles Great Britain, a country that is north from Italy. To finish up, the Romans’ and the Toscans’ have a huge amount of similarities that go beyond a little cluster of “easter eggs.” The Emperor of Nihon-Ja has a cast of very colorful and valiant characters. One of the best examples is the emperor himself, Shigeru. Shigeru is from the highest class in Nihon-Ja, a group of warriors known as the Senshi, who started training at a very young age. This elite class of warriors were also very rude. In the book, Horace, a young man from Araluen, is thinking about what he has learned about the Senshi. According to him, “... the Senshi had become an aggressive and warlike sect, with a sense of superiority over the other classes of the Nihon-Ja society” (Flanagan). Instead of believing this, Shigeru wanted peace between the Senshi and the peasants. He was loyal, brave, and kind. So was Paul Newman, the founder of the company Newman’s Own. Paul Newman was a very wealthy man. He started his career as an famous actor and director, and then he moved on to car racing. He then opened his company, Newman’s Own, to help raise money for charities. Shigeru and Newman had the same goals in life. They both cared for people who weren’t as successful as they were and wanted to make the world a better place. Shigeru wanted to make the lives of the peasants better. Paul Newman opened his own charity and non-profit organization to raise money for different causes. These two men are very good people, and they should be role models for a lot of people. When there is good in the world, there is also evil.
The traitorous Arisaka was the exact opposite of the valiant Shigeru. He lied, cheated, and used his followers. He believed that the Senshi were the dominant people in Nihon-Ja, and that the peasants should be their slaves. This sounds awfully similar to one evil person known as Adolf Hitler and his alliance with the Japanese. Hitler believed that the Aryan, people with blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin, were the dominant race and that all others should be destroyed. He started a world war once his Nazis invaded Poland. His alliance with Japan was no better. After reading the book Unbroken, these similarities began to tie in with Arisaka. One Japanese soldier, known as Mutsuhiro Watanabe, tried to give himself self-worth by using “violent and vile abuses” (Hillenbrand). Arisaka was the same. One Senshi soldier remembered that their war training was cruel. If they messed up one thing, they would be smacked right across the face. This evil should by no means ever exist, but, sadly, it does. Arisaka and Hitler with his Japanese soldiers are so alike, it would be surprising if John Flanagan didn’t take some inspiration from
that. With these similarities in mind, think back to a time when you wished that fiction could be reality. With Arisaka and his hatred, Shigeru and his kindness, and the Toscans’ strategies, fiction seems to be closer to us than we thought. These traits and ideas that almost everyone thinks can only happen in fiction can be found in our own human history. Even though both good and evil are in this world, things that you see in stories can be found right around you right this very moment! Any type of personality that seems fictitious, can be found inside of you! In conclusion, fiction isn’t always found inside a book. Instead, it can be found right where you are.
between reality its fictional counterpart. In The Emperor of Nihon-Ja, the Kikori, a tucked away group of woodworkers, are taught a variety of different war strategies in order to fight the traitorous war general, Arisaka. According to General Sapristi of the Toscan army, the originators of the war strategy, “Our troops just plow forward, jabbing and stabbing at anything they see on the other side of their shields” (Flanagan). In the story, General Sapristi dubs these groups of soldiers as legions. This word should ring a bell for some people because that is what the Romans called a group of one hundred men at arms. The Romans also had large shields meant for protecting men from any kind of attack and creating a shield fortress when necessary. The Toscan army and the Roman army wore the same armor and used the same plans of dominating the enemy. In fact, their languages were very similar, along with their area of living. Toscan is south of Araluen, which resembles Great Britain, a country that is north from Italy. To finish up, the Romans’ and the Toscans’ have a huge amount of similarities that go beyond a little cluster of “easter eggs.” The Emperor of Nihon-Ja has a cast of very colorful and valiant characters. One of the best examples is the emperor himself, Shigeru. Shigeru is from the highest class in Nihon-Ja, a group of warriors known as the Senshi, who started training at a very young age. This elite class of warriors were also very rude. In the book, Horace, a young man from Araluen, is thinking about what he has learned about the Senshi. According to him, “... the Senshi had become an aggressive and warlike sect, with a sense of superiority over the other classes of the Nihon-Ja society” (Flanagan). Instead of believing this, Shigeru wanted peace between the Senshi and the peasants. He was loyal, brave, and kind. So was Paul Newman, the founder of the company Newman’s Own. Paul Newman was a very wealthy man. He started his career as an famous actor and director, and then he moved on to car racing. He then opened his company, Newman’s Own, to help raise money for charities. Shigeru and Newman had the same goals in life. They both cared for people who weren’t as successful as they were and wanted to make the world a better place. Shigeru wanted to make the lives of the peasants better. Paul Newman opened his own charity and non-profit organization to raise money for different causes. These two men are very good people, and they should be role models for a lot of people. When there is good in the world, there is also evil.
The traitorous Arisaka was the exact opposite of the valiant Shigeru. He lied, cheated, and used his followers. He believed that the Senshi were the dominant people in Nihon-Ja, and that the peasants should be their slaves. This sounds awfully similar to one evil person known as Adolf Hitler and his alliance with the Japanese. Hitler believed that the Aryan, people with blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin, were the dominant race and that all others should be destroyed. He started a world war once his Nazis invaded Poland. His alliance with Japan was no better. After reading the book Unbroken, these similarities began to tie in with Arisaka. One Japanese soldier, known as Mutsuhiro Watanabe, tried to give himself self-worth by using “violent and vile abuses” (Hillenbrand). Arisaka was the same. One Senshi soldier remembered that their war training was cruel. If they messed up one thing, they would be smacked right across the face. This evil should by no means ever exist, but, sadly, it does. Arisaka and Hitler with his Japanese soldiers are so alike, it would be surprising if John Flanagan didn’t take some inspiration from
that. With these similarities in mind, think back to a time when you wished that fiction could be reality. With Arisaka and his hatred, Shigeru and his kindness, and the Toscans’ strategies, fiction seems to be closer to us than we thought. These traits and ideas that almost everyone thinks can only happen in fiction can be found in our own human history. Even though both good and evil are in this world, things that you see in stories can be found right around you right this very moment! Any type of personality that seems fictitious, can be found inside of you! In conclusion, fiction isn’t always found inside a book. Instead, it can be found right where you are.