47: The True Story of the Vendetta of the 47 Ronin from Akô

by Thomas Harper

This is the story of a few men who valued justice more than life. They were members of the large Corps of Samurai in the feudal domain of Akô in western Japan. But when their lord committed the crime of drawing his sword within the castle of the Shogun, the law decreed that he should be sentenced to death, that his heir would not inherit the domain, and all of his vassals would become ronin, dismissed from employment, evicted from their homes, and deprived of their income. All 308 samurai in Akô knew the law and accepted it. And if their lord had succeeded in killing the man he attacked in the castle that would have been the tragic end of this episode. But their lord was subdued and failed to kill his enemy; which meant that yet another law came into the Principle of Equal Punishment. 47: The True Story of the Vendetta of the 47 Ronin from Akô tells the harrowing tale of how all this was argued, what was decided, what the results were, and what ultimately became of those 47 men who remained. 47 Ronin tells the tale in immense detail—with maps, graphics and gorgeous illustrations. It provides a richer and more in-depth picture of the Samurai than readers will find in any other medium, offering a comprehensive picture of a tale of justice, honor, politics, and the law of equal punishment.

Genres: History, Japan, Japanese History

1191 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2019

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Reviews

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lengthy treatment, but chock full of wonderfully humanizing touches. The author does a good job of reminding us that Asano’s botched attack on Kira was not a normal sort of occurrence at the time, nor was the Ako ronin’s later attack. Further, we are introduced to the unvarnished versions of the ronin themselves: some time romantics, some time thugs and murderers; the lot of them motivated by a nostalgia for a violence their generation has not experienced first hand. A worthy read, and generously concise at 900+ pages.

[Michael Reid · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointing, for 900 plus pages this takes the traditional view, depicting Asano as the victim . The reality is that Kira served 3 shoguns without a blemish on his record, he was loved by the people of his Han . By contrast Asano was a drunk with anger issues, who abused his servants .
Hiroaki Sato In Legends Of The Samurai translates letters from the Ronin, particularly Oishi and Yasubei, what we learn is that these two did not even like each other, and Yasubei certainly did not like Asano .
Asano attacked an old man from behind in the pine corridor and only succeeded in scratching him, this would have been humiliating for the Ako men, the vendetta was probably more about finishing the job, then avenging this man . 16 people were killed during the raid and 22 wounded, in retirement Kira could only afford four bodyguards , most of the casualties were unarmed servants .
Harpers Book is a novel allegedly based on fact, you could watch any of the 100 versions of Chushingura and get the same story .
If you want a more realistic view of what happened, visit the Samurai Archives Citadel forum or google Henry Smith at Harvard, or pick up Hiroaki Sato’s Legends Of The Samurai, Beatrice Bodart Bailey’s The Dog Shogun or Stephen Trumbull’s Osprey Book on the subject