Interesting bit from this ( http://www.itechnology.co.za/index.php?
click_id=3&art_id=qw1074588482855N234&set_id=1 ) article on "The Last
Samurai":

"Jim Jarmusch, the indie director who's so cool he's frozen, began
the American fetish for this culture a few years ago with his movie
Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai. It's the everyday story of a New York
hitman who lives by the ancient Samurai code. Soon after the film's
success, Samurai textbooks became best sellers and now Mr Top Gun
himself is slashing his way to a movie house near you."