jidaigeki
Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- noun (noun) A genre of film and television in Japan based on the Edo period of Japanese history which was from 1600 to 1868 CE, showing the lives of samurai, farmers, craftsmen, and merchants of this time.
Examples
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Jidai-geki, or period films, are the opposite of chambara [equal in value to B-Westerns] and often aspire to the condition of art. In these films, we frequently see the soul of the nation searching for deep answers, examining the way things were back then in the hope of understanding why things are this or that way today.
Charles Mudede, 'The Classy Samurai,' The Stranger, June 14, 2006
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There was no such thing as a 'samurai movie' in Japan before World War II but there were plenty of jidaigeki, or historical movies. . . .When the American occupation government took over at the end of the war, it limited production of jidaigeki, fearing they could reignite Japanese nationalism. Forbidden was the depiction of samurai swords, which were closely associated with feudal loyalty.
'The Way of the Warrior,' The Sydney Morning Herald, January 3, 2004
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But if Ito created the genre of jidai-geki, Kurosawa perfected the form and gave it so deep a historical resonance that each of his jidai-geki has contained within it the entire progress of Japan from feudal to modern times.
Rick Lyman, 'Akira Kurosawa, Film Director, Is Dead at 88,' The New York Times, September 7, 1998
Note
'Jidaigeki,' sometimes written 'jidai-geki,' translates from the Japanese as 'period drama,' and is said to have influenced George Lucas in the development of his Star Wars movies. 'Jedi' may be a shortening of 'jidaigeki.'
