When “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” was released in 1977, it was unlike anything audiences had ever seen before. But part of why viewers connected so deeply to the epic space opera and its characters, whether they were aware of it or not, is due to the widespread cultural influences seamed within its fabric. Countless fictional and real-world elements, from “Flash Gordon” and John Wayne Westerns to capitalist democracy and the Vietnam War, laid the groundwork for the game-changing blockbuster and its subsequent franchise. The imposing Darth Vader, whose connections to samurai culture originated long before the advent of AI, was no exception.
It’s easy to draw similarities between Vader’s helmet and mask and a samurai’s kabuto and men-yoroi, facial armor designed to intimidate enemies. As concept artist Ralph McQuarrie explained in the book “Star Wars: From Concept to Screen to Collectible” (via “Force Material”), “[George Lucas] suggested that maybe Vader could be in a silk robe that always fluttered as he came in, and he might have his face covered with black silk and have some kind of big helmet like a Japanese warrior.” The creator took particular inspiration from Date Masamune, an especially powerful daimyo from Japan’s Edo period. Like Vader, Masamune grew up in politically tumultuous times, had a parent killed early in life, and rose to become one of the country’s most brutal yet formidable warriors and leaders.
