Writing Crossovers: Cowboys & Samurai

I’m far from the first to point out the mutual attraction Americans and Japanese have for stories of the Old West and wandering ronin. To the point that stories have been used for inspiration back and forth; Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai and John Sturges’ The Magnificent Seven being one of the best-known pairs of examples. But there are also stories of cowboys and samurai. Just off the top of my head I can name Red Sun with Charles Bronson, and episodes of many old Westerns including The Rifleman, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Bonanza, Have Gun Will Travel, and Wagon Train. This is intriguing, both from the viewpoint of someone who likes to write stories with a basis in history, and as someone who writes crossovers.

In short, while the historical cowboy and samurai existed at the same time and on the same planet, they came from two very different cultural worlds. So when you see one of these stories done well, it can give you guidelines on how to do crossovers in general.

Your heroes have different skills. Sometimes a sword is faster. Sometimes a gun.

Different knowledge. In most American cowboy and samurai stories, the cowboy has local savvy while the samurai knows how the situation affects international politics – and often, knows who’s trying to wreck them.

Different moral hierarchies. Usually we se the stark contrast between Combat Pragmatism and Honor Before Reason. But in the good stories, there’s generally an acknowledgement of “Not So Different”; the code of honor may differ between the two cultures, but the fact that both characters have a code of honor gives them a basis for mutual understanding.

Another common theme that comes up is that neither the samurai nor the cowboy fit with the “folks back East”; modern, supposedly civilized society, whether American Easterners or the modernizing Meiji government. Men who live by their words and their weapons are doomed to frustration and sometimes lethal rage when trying to deal with those who don’t consider themselves bound by any agreement unless it’s written down by a lawyer, signed, sealed, and even then, taken to court.

(See any bunch of crossover heroes dealing with bureaucracy, ever.)

So if you’re looking for examples of how to do crossovers, see if a cowboy-samurai movie is your cup of tea. (Or filtered through socks camp coffee.) Old Hollywood has some interesting storytelling techniques to learn. You just have to look.