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You may have heard the phrase “Ban and Hawk: Call in the Master!” but what does it actually mean? Ban and hawk are a pair of characters from a Japanese manga series called Vagabond. The story is about an infamous samurai, Takezo Kensei, who turns into two people with different personalities: one violent and one calm. One day, while reading poetry under a tree, he falls asleep to find himself transformed into another person–Bansai Kawakami–and his old identity as Takezo Kensei gone. In this blog post we will discuss why Bansai calls out for help from his master, even though he was previously his enemy!
Ban and Hawk: Call in the Master!
Bansai Kawakami is a mysterious samurai from Vagabond who has never been defeated. He carries himself with dignity, but at his core he remains humble. The clip you have heard of Bansai calling out for help to his master Kensei might seem odd because they are enemies–but there’s an explanation! In one episode, Takezo Kensei falls asleep under a tree while reading poetry and wakes up as Bansai. Now that he is no longer Takezo, Bansai does not know how to fight like him nor how to do any other skills or knowledge that were once innate. Thus when faced with death by enemy warriors (his old friends) Ban is a phoenix, and his master is the dragon. Dragon’s are often associated with Chinese culture as being powerful symbols of good luck and fortune. Ban calls himself “The servant who serves the benevolent (dragon)” Dragon in Chinese mythology can be seen as guardians or defenders of important values such as noble families or even temples that they watch over for eternity until their final demise. The relationship between ban and hawk is one where these two warriors have sworn to protect each other no matter what happens. This oath of protection means ban must always call hawk out when things take a turn for the worst either by calling him Master Hawk or just using his name instead which he does not do very often because it’s
