A Dragon’s Head And A Loser's ‘Tale’-A Mini-Review Of Universal’s “The 47 Ronin”

OK, finally saw this. Narukagami's review on the Samurai Archives Film Forum covered much of what I also think, so I'll limit myself to new avenues. 

As expected, about a 2 on a 100 based accuracy scale. A Lord Asano attacks an unarmed Lord Kira, is sentenced to seppuku, and a group of 47 of his former vassals led by Oishi Yoshio murder Kira. Everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING, else is wrong. Even small details that were changed seemingly only for the sake of doing so. Culturally, they managed to get virtually everything wrong too, stressing the fantasy vibe. I mention this only in passing, because the movie claims to only be BASED on the story, and no sane person could watch the trailer and expect real history. So accuracy wasn't an issue for me. Does make you wonder why they hired Stephen Turnbull as an historical consultant and kept him on the set for months, because it appears they ignored any advice he might have given them. I need that gig. 

Keanu Reeves was GODAWFUL. It might have been the worst performance I've ever seen in a big budget movie. I get that he's supposed to be stoic, but Japanese actors can pull this off and still be interesting in the process. Reeves just looked eternally befuddled and mentally challenged, with his character coming across as the village idiot. And this is what's supposed to turn on the Great Lord Asano's daughter? Which brings us to... 

The Great Lord Asano's daughter Mika and the love story, which as Narukagami mentioned is shoehorned in for no discernible reason. Why any woman would find Reeves's character attractive is beyond me, and Mika is by far the most unlikeable female lead/primary love interest I've ever seen in a 'samurai' film. There is no chemistry between the two and you just want to see them die painfully, preferably at each other’s hand. With a chainsaw. 

This unlikablilty spills over to the rest of the cast. You're supposed to be CHEERING for the 47 Ronin, but they are so arrogant, intolerant (accurate here, as historically they booted out one of their members for being of insufficient rank), dishonest (even to their Lord), and downright mean spirited and nasty, you want to see them all die too (at least the film delivers here). Oishi is particularly loathsome. Granted, this is probably the way samurai were in real life, but in a fantasy epic, you want the heroes to be heroes. Flawed, yes, but not complete and unredeemable bastards. Conversely, Kira and his fox-witch are virtually the only engaging characters in the film. I did enjoy the fact that they role-reversed the usual depictions and made Kira a young, vibrant man and Asano the wrinkled and decrepit old Lord. 

And they spent 175 mil on this? Where? It sure isn't up on the screen. The CG wasn't as bad as I feared-the Kirin in the beginning was awful, and the Oni that Reeves fights in the UFC pit on Dejima (I was REALLY hoping for a Don Frye cameo) is almost as bad. Still, the effects they did for the 'swirling cloth' Tengu and the witch were well done, and the water dragon looked fine. The real problem with the CG is they did a very poor job of staging things so the actors looked like they were interacting with the fantasy creatures. This was particularly noticeable in the opening Kirin hunt and Reeves's battle with the water dragon. They'd have been much better off using practical effects-the few in the film (such as the Tengu makeup) were well done. 

The film also wasted some of its biggest assets. Kira's super-samurai is set up for a climactic battle against...someone, but is unsatisfactorily thrown away during the final fight. And the cool skull headed gun-toting tattooed dude featured prominently in advertising is given almost nothing to do, appearing for only a few seconds during the Dejima sequence during which he has zero impact on the proceedings. 

Having said all that, I actually did enjoy the movie as a fantasy epic. It moved along well, Kikuchi Rinko gives a great over-the-top performance as Kira’s witch that fits the mood a fantasy should have, the sets and costuming are goofy but impressively so, and the fighting that doesn’t involve monsters is pretty well done. If you approach this the same way as you would a late 50’s/early 60’s Ray Harryhausen style fantasy/quest film, I believe most fans of the genre would find it a pleasant enough way to pass two hours. And like most fantasy flicks, the problems with it only result in a so-bad-it’s-good vibe. It’s probably not worth buying the DVD/Blu-ray for most people, but definitely worth a spot on your Netflix queue. 

Speaking of which, the extras on the DVD/Blu-ray were a major disappointment. Basing this on a real story, you’d think they’d at least have a pseudo-documentary of the historical incident, but it rates barely a passing mention. If nothing else, it would have given Turnbull a chance to earn whatever they were paying him. Instead, you get several of your typical ‘behind-the-scenes-crew-member-with-a-video-camera’ vignettes. These look to have originally been part of a whole that was chopped up in order to give the appearance of more ‘extras’. There are a handful of deleted scenes, and that’s it. No commentary track or any sort of in-depth examination of the film-can’t say I blame them. They likely didn’t want to throw more money into a losing effort. The short vignettes spend much of their time having cast and crew gush about how awesomely talented and brilliant Reeves is and how they just loved working with him and having him on the set, and how he was seemingly in command of everything that went on from costuming to plot (so now we know who REALLY gets the blame for this box-office disaster). Yes, people will lie through their teeth to remain gainfully employed. If you want to hear anything about the Japanese cast, sorry, these aren’t the extras you’re looking for, because they receive only a few brief sentences. There are some hilariously jaw-dropping moments during the extras, such as when one of the ‘artistes’ claims that they’ve designed a film that visually is historically authentic and accurate but that yet brings it refreshingly into the present day and gives it a totally modern look. I like to think some mischievous editor dropped that into the proceedings for the sole purpose of amusing me. 

So enjoy the 47 Ronin for what it is-a mess of a film that features enough monsters, witchery, ass-kicking, and absurdity to make it worth a rental. And about as authentic and realistic as most of the other films that feature the 47 Ronin-which is to say not at all.

'Tis The Season For The Ronin-Shambhala’s “The 47 Ronin” Graphic Novel

December has always been the month where the 47 Ronin enter the stream of modern Japanese consciousness. The assault by the Ronin on Lord Kira’s estate took place on the “fourteenth day of the twelfth month” in the year of Genroku 15. While this actually corresponds to January 30th of the Western calendar, the Japanese have traditionally recognized it on December 14th. The Ronin appear in commercials, special events and observances are held at Sengakuji Temple (where the Ronin’s graves are located), and the airwaves tend to screen a goodly number of the dozens of TV shows and movies that have depicted the event over the decades. And this year, the Ronin will be making their presence felt in December in the West. Most obvious is the big-budget fantasy film “47 Ronin” starring Keanu Reeves that will be making its US debut Christmas day. Filled with CGI monsters and having little to do with the real 47 Ronin, it remains to be seen how the movie going public will react to it. But Shambhala Publications has also recently released a graphic novel version of the traditional 47 Ronin tale, just in time to join the festivities. The team of writer Sean Michael Wilson and artist Shimojima Akiko (along with letterer Ben Dickson) have combined to put together an adaptation of Chushingura (roughly ‘treasury of loyal retainers’, the fictional account of the historical incident that has been the subject of hundreds of kabuki plays, puppet plays, films, manga, novels, and artwork over the centuries) that exceeds anything yet done in the West (including the recent failed Dark Horse adaptation). It’s a solid adaptation that faithfully brings out the story’s many facets, perfectly complimented by accurate, simple, and clean artwork.

One issue that needs to be addressed up front is the press releases/publicity for the book. While the full versions make it clear that the graphic novel is a depiction of Chushingura (the heavily fictionalized account of the 47 Ronin incident that became popular in Edo period Japan), the shorter versions only state that it’s “…the first historically accurate graphic-novel version of a legendary event in Japanese history”. Just to be clear, the graphic novel is indeed based on the Chushingura legend, not the facts of the historical incident. Since we’ve examined these differences at length in other articles, we’ll just touch on them here. Some of the more important differences between Chushingura and actual history include:

-Chushingura contains many fictional characters, such as Kamei and ‘Urata from Satsuma’ AKA the Satsuma man.

-it also contains many fictional incidents-for example, after the assault, the Ronin pass through the streets of Edo stopping to be praised and feted by the populace. They actually moved expeditiously to their final goal of Sengakuji Temple as they feared an assault by the Uesugi and certainly weren't being embraced by the townspeople.

-Asano is shown in Chushingura as the embodiment of samurai values and virtue, whereas in real life he was a drunken womanizer with no skills to speak of (as we like to say, the 'Brick McBurly of his day').

-Oishi (the leader of the Ronin) is depicted as a loyal and brilliant retainer, but was also a man of few skills aside from drinking and procuring women for Asano.

-Kira Yoshihisa (often referred to as ‘Yoshinaka’) is shown as a grasping, greedy villain but there is no historical evidence to support it. He was more of a typical bakufu bureaucrat.

-Asano Naganori’s assault is provoked by Kira’s greed and rudeness, but the truth is that no one has a clue why he did it.

-the Ronin are shown in Chushingura to be taking great care to take no innocent lives, but during the assault they slaughtered many of Kira’s household staff.

There are lots more differences-if you’re interested, you can read about them here, here, or here. We’re also assuming our readership is acquainted with the general details of the 47 Ronin-but if not, here’s the ‘Cliffs Notes’ version. Asano Naganori, daimyo of Ako han, was assigned to study court etiquette under the tutelage of Kira Yoshihisa in order to attend Imperial envoys visiting the Shogun’s court. For some unknown reason (rudeness on Kira’s part due to not being bribed? Resentment over being properly chastised on Asano’s part?), Asano attacked Kira with his sword inside the Shogun’s Edo Castle-an act punishable by death. Asano was forced to commit ritual suicide, his lands were confiscated, and his family and retainers turned out. 47 of these retainers banded together and a year or so later assaulted Kira’s mansion, in effect ‘finishing Asano’s work’, killing Kira in what amounted to a feudal drive-by. But let’s get to the graphic novel…

Author Sean Michael Wilson sticks closely to the traditional accounts, not embellishing the Ronin with further exploits or fawning hero worship. This being the case, Kira is the villain, Asano a victim, and the Ronin are the true heroes of the story. Unlike many Western authors, however, Wilson doesn’t omit some of the darker threads of the old legends that are often dropped. One of these is Oishi’s implied criticism of Asano-“I hope I can be allowed to express some doubt as to the wisdom of our Lord’s actions. But it is done now and we must act well. If the Shogun will allow Asano Daigaku to become the new Lord, then we can continue the house with honor”. This short discourse brings an entirely new dimension to the Ronin’s vendetta, and is further embellished by Wilson presenting it as a conversation between the two factions of the Ako Ronin. In a little over two pages, much is explained. The feuding factions of the Ronin (the radicals led by Horibe Yasubei who wanted to kill Kira at once and Oishi’s moderates who only wanted the Asano family to remain in control of Ako) that almost resulted in the assault being called off, the waiting period of a year between Asano’s suicide and the raid (not because the Ronin were trying to lull Kira’s suspicions, but because they were waiting on the Shogun’s decision), the question of whether the Ronin were truly loyal to Asano Naganori or just to their positions within the house of Asano-they’re set up effortlessly and subtly. The Ronin’s callous manipulation of women and employers, and the cruelty of Oishi’s rejection of his wife and family (albeit for a good reason) are shown for all to see. By not editing these incidents from the proceedings, Wilson manages to turn the Ronin from cardboard heroes into human beings with realistic motivations and feelings. It’s also closer to real history, as most historians believe the Ronin acted to preserve their individual honor rather than out of any loyalty to Asano (who the majority had never even met). Even some of Kira’s retainers are allowed their moment to shine, with a small group of three holding back the Ronin.

Also given time to develop is the friendship between ‘Kamei-sama’ and Asano. Traditionally, Kamei is shown as the real hothead of the pair and is only saved from Asano’s fate by the quick thinking of two of his retainers (behind Kamei’s back, they bribe Kira, ending his verbal abuse of Kamei). Wilson depicts Asano’s efforts to connect with Kamei in an effort to keep him from assaulting their teacher. The friendship between the two daimyo again helps to make them believable, and as Kira turns the full of his scorn on Asano, it makes Asano’s transition from the voice of reason to unbridled rage all the more shocking and unexpected. Combined with the graphic portrayal of his seppuku (ritual suicide), it makes him a far more sympathetic character. This Asano is not perfect, but one can understand his frustration, confusion, and anger.

Many works dealing with the 47 Ronin tend to be bloodless affairs, concentrating on the ‘glory’ of the assault and glossing over the violence that was a part of it. Kira’s murder and Asano’s seppuku usually take place ‘off-screen’ or are not described in anything but the most general terms. Not so here. They’re depicted in all their ugliness, giving this version of the story a more visceral impact that tends to rip away more of the fairy tale aspect of the story and make it much more realistic. When stripped to its essentials, the tale of the Ronin is nothing more than the tragic retaliatory murder of a largely blameless old man (described by historian James McMullen as an '...atavistic, violent, and futile incident' involving '...reductive morality and brittle sense of honor that sanctioned such pointless sacrifice'), and nothing brings this home more than Oishi’s beheading of Kira.

For the most part the tale flows smoothly from one incident to another, although there is a bit of a rough transition from a scene between Kira and Asano to Asano’s later assault on Kira in Edo castle. It comes across as one incident, although the costuming and situation soon make it obvious such is not the case. Chushingura is a LONG story-kabuki plays can take days, movies several hours. Compressing everything into 150 pages or so is not an easy job, but Wilson manages to include all of the high points along with many of the sub-plots (most famously the ‘side jobs’ of the Ronin in Edo as they spy on Kira in the guise of workmen and merchants) without making things seem rushed. Dialogue takes the proper tone-a rather old-fashioned and formal way of speaking that reflects as best as it can in English the tone that a samurai would be employing in everyday speech.

Artist Shimojima Akiko’s black and white artwork is a breath of fresh air, showing an excellent level of accurate cultural and historical detail that was lacking in the Dark Horse version of the Ronin. In our opinion, it’s also far more suited to this serious story than the more whimsical and cartoonish artwork featured in the Dark Horse effort. Her double splash page spread of Edo Castle (home of the Shogun and the setting for Asano’s assault) is a perfect example, showing a grasp of Edo period Japanese architecture and castle layout that evades most artists in the West (many of whom seemingly take their cues from Chinese Wuxia films). It gives the story an authentic air that helps the reader to immerse themselves in the story rather than distract them.

As well as technical ability, she also displays a subtle touch, such as several illustrations of a spider in its web slowly being revealed as being over Asano’s shoulder-a nice bit of symbolism. The simple look of heartfelt hurt on the face of Oishi’s young daughter as he disowns her is heartbreaking. While Shimojima’s depiction of the Ronin’s assault on Kira’s mansion is done in the best frenetic manga style, there are quiet moments interspaced-such as when Kira’s chief retainer is struck down and his essence slowly drifts into the sky. For him, this battle is over and no longer matters. It imparts the sense of the transitory and impermanent nature of things inherent in Buddhism. Interestingly, this concept is stood on its head in the final scene, where the dying body of the Satsuma Man fades away to show a modern family paying homage to the Ronin’s graves at Sengakuji. While the body might pass on, the legend continues to live in perpetuity.

Shimojima also does her best to make the individual characters identifiable. The Shogun’s court stressed conformity and standardization (one reason Asano needed instruction in the highly intricate and detailed sphere of court etiquette). Hairstyles were also tightly regulated. This means that everyone had a rather generic look. Shimojima manages within this context to give cues to the reader-the differing crests on the formal kataginu, small differences in hairstyles, the shading and patterns of clothes, even things as subtle as eyebrow thickness all help in picking out the key players. It also rewards sharp-eyed readers who can spot characters from earlier in the story showing up later.

One mild criticism of the book is that it would have benefited from a short text piece such as was included in Wilson’s two other graphic novels for Shambhala. Many cultural and historical issues that Western audiences might find confusing could have been explained here, such as why Asano became homicidal when asked to tie the ribbon on Kira’s sock or why Oishi would have been so brutal in dealing with his wife (casting her out meant his family would not be held responsible for his actions and punished). Why do all in the samurai in the castle have ‘pants’ on that are twice as long as their legs (this was used to keep them from moving quickly and designed to forestall possible assassination attempts on the Shogun)? It also could have been used to give more background on the historical incident.

So if you’re looking for an adaptation of the Chushingura legend that sticks to the story and doesn’t include fantasy monsters, witches, giants, or gaijin actors shoehorned into the tale, you won’t find a better executed one than Wilson’s and Shimojima’s “The 47 Ronin”. It’s an adaptation that manages to infuse both the Ronin and their foes with humanity. Author Wilson makes you feel Asano’s outrage, Kira’s panic, the conflicting views of Asano’s retainers, and the excitement of the raid. Artist Shimojima gives us a period-accurate Japan laced with dynamic action and quiet moments in turn. They’ve taken what is often depicted as a morality tale filled with two dimensional characters and given it depth and texture. During this season of the Ronin, ‘tis the book ye be looking for. The 47 Ronin is available directly from Shambhala or from Amazon.

All artwork courtesy and copyright 2103 Shambhala Publications. It may not be reproduced, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Thanks For Nothing, Dark Horse: The 47 Ronin Travesty

 Dark Horse Comics has accomplished much in its 25+ years of operation. It was one of the pioneers in allowing writers and artists to retain control of their original characters. The company wasn’t afraid to feature stories that tackled socially touchy issues or expressed unpopular viewpoints, and helped to transform comics into a medium for adults as well as children. They’ve also helped bring many of Japan’s most popular manga series to American shores. So when we heard that company founder and President Mike Richardson was going to be writing a series about the 47 Ronin, that extensive research had been done for it, and that it would be as historically accurate as possible, we were quite happy with the prospect. This began to dim when Stan Sakai was brought on board to illustrate the series, as his work is influenced far more by chanbara and manga than history. Still, Sakai has a real love for Japanese culture and has used his “Usagi Yojimbo” series to bring that love to his fan base and help spark interest among them for all things Japan. But now that the first issue of Dark Horse’s “47 Ronin” has been released, it’s obvious their ‘meticulously researched’ comic that was ‘as historically accurate as possible’ has turned out to be a big joke at the expense of their readers. It bears as much resemblance to the historical events as the Tom Cruise film “The Last Samurai” does to the life of Saigo Takamori. 

But before we pull the wings off of Richardson’s and Sakai’s sloppily researched farce, a couple of caveats. First, we’re not addressing the artistic merits and entertainment value of the book. If you just plan on reading the book to be entertained or to enjoy Sakai’s art, feel free to stop reading here-just be aware it’s a fictional account and has little to do with the historical event. But if you thought you were getting the real story or want to hear how wrong Dark Horse got it, read on. If Richardson and Sakai were writing an adaptation of the Chushingura plays and movies, we would have no problem with the comic. We own about 20 different films based on Chushingura and enjoy them all (especially 1994’s “Chushingura Gaiden Yotsuya Kaidan”-check it out if you can). But instead, they marketed their book based on the claim that it was an accurate representation of the historical events based on years of exhaustive research, and that’s simply a lie. They’ve lied to their readers, the majority of whom have little knowledge of the Ronin and have placed blind trust in the two to deliver on their promise-for example, this blurb from Comic Book Resources: 

“…Richardson and "Usagi Yojimbo" artist Stan Sakai launch "47 Ronin" -- a five-issue miniseries that tells a historically accurate account of warriors who laid in wait two years to avenge the tragic death of their master only to take their own lives to be buried beside him. One of the most famous stories in Japanese history, the story of the 47 has been mythologized and retold countless times over the centuries, but with this series Richardson and Sakai hope to bring Western comics its first accurate, intensive adaptation.” 

By the end of this article, not even the most diehard Richardson/Sakai supporters will be able to claim that the two worked hard to get things right. 

Second, there are a lot of aspects of the 47 Ronin story that are open to debate. What was Asano’s motivation for attempting to kill Lord Kira? Were the Ronin operating out of loyalty or looking to win positions with new clans by their ‘demonstration’ of loyalty? Was the vendetta really in keeping with Confucian thought (the scholars of the day were split on the matter)? Was this a stellar display of samurai loyalty and honor or just a spiteful feudal drive-by carried out by a group of thuggish murderers? These and many other questions can be debated until the end of time without any concrete answers. But in this article, we’re not going to bother with addressing anything that is open to debate. Instead, we’re only going to stick with factual issues-issues that are spelled out in contemporary documents, eyewitness accounts, official reports of the Shogunate, the Ronin’s writings while in captivity after the assault on Lord Kira’s mansion, and the like. Everything here will be just the most basic facts that even an amateur historian with no prior knowledge of the event would have been able to get right with a few hours of research. Why didn’t Richardson and Sakai? We don’t know. Apparently all their so-called ‘research’ was based on the Chushingura puppet and kabuki plays along with movies based on the plays, or perhaps from reading early English language accounts of the incident that mistakenly accepted the fiction of Chushingura as fact. All of the facts you are about to read can be easily verified in most any Japanese language book on the Ronin published in the last 20 years, or in the following English language sources. 


 “THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF CHUSHINGURA" series in Monumenta Nipponica, 2003-06-Monumenta Nipponica is one of the most well respected academic sources on Japanese history, and their series of articles from 2003-2006 dealing with the 47 Ronin was groundbreaking, representing the first concentrated effort in the West to look at the real history behind the Chushingura legend 

Beatrice Bodart-Bailey-“The Dog Shogun”-this examines Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi and the falsehoods that sprang up about him. It also contains a chapter on the 47 Ronin that does an even better job of deflating the legend than we do 

Stephen Turnbull-“The Revenge of the 47 Ronin”-probably the best single book devoted to the 47 Ronin, inexpensive, loaded with pictures, and readily available 

Andrew Rankin-“Seppuku”-an excellent section on the Ronin with much of the latest scholarship, including the fact they didn’t commit seppuku 

Professor Henry Smith-the West’s most notable 47 Ronin scholar, his homepage on the Columbia University website is a gold mine of Ronin resources and articles 


So let’s get to it. On page 2, we’re introduced to Murakami Kiken, the ‘Satsuma Man’. No doubt his backstory will be revealed in future issues, but basically in the Ronin legend he’s a samurai who ran across the leader of the 47 Ronin, Oishi Kuranosuke, in Kyoto. Oishi was passed out drunk in an alley, part of his alleged ‘acting drunk to camouflage his intentions’ act (more on that later). A man from Satsuma province stumbled across him and became thoroughly disgusted, berating Oishi at length and telling him he was a disgrace and unfit to be a samurai. Months later Oishi led the attack on Lord Kira’s mansion. The Satsuma man realized his mistake and became stricken with grief that he had maligned such a fine example of samurai virtue-hence his attempts to atone at the Ronin’s graves pictured here. The problem is-the Satsuma Man never existed, as least as far as the Ronin were concerned. This was a case where an historical account (from a few years prior to the Ronin’s assault) that had nothing to do with the Ronin was grafted onto the tale years later by playwrights for dramatic impact-just like Richardson and Sakai do here, it makes for a great framing device to tell the story. But the real Satsuma man never met Oishi, never visited the Ronin’s gravesites, and his particular story took place years earlier. So scratch the Satsuma man. 

Page 6-a minor quibble is that Kiken would not be referring to Emperor Higashiyama by his posthumous name while he’s still alive-he would have used “Asahito”, if indeed he used a name at all. We’ll give the comic a pass on this as that’s pretty esoteric. 

There’s a charming interlude on pages 7-13 where Naganori Asano, daimyo of Ako han and the man who eventually will assault Lord Kira in Edo castle and spark off the 47 Ronin Vendetta, spends some quality time with his young daughter and wife before departing for the big city. Cute kid. Nicely illustrated touching scene. Total fiction. How do we know this? Asano’s wife and child wouldn’t be expressing regret on Asano leaving Ako for Edo. That’s because they’d BE in Edo. As part of the Shogun’s Sankin Kotai (alternate attendance) policy, a daimyo’s wife and young children were required to live in the capital city of Edo (symbolic hostages and a guarantee of good behavior by the daimyo). The comic even MENTIONS Sankin Kotai, but Richardson/Sakai apparently don’t realize its ramifications. So, we can strike all of this from the record. 

And that Asano-wow, he’s something. The comic portrays him as a compassionate family man, a man of many talents, an admired lord, a talented administrator of his lands, and the personification of idealized samurai virtues. Was he? Well, there just happens to be an excellent account of Asano’s behavior and character in the “Dokai Koshuki”, a report prepared in the 1690’s by agents of Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi concerning the lives and behavior of 243 daimyo (and prepared long before Asano’s assault on Kira in Edo castle). Asano seems to have been regarded with distaste by many of his peers, and indeed seen as a hothead. The report compliments him on his intelligence and strict punishment of offences within Ako domain, but after that it’s all downhill. The report derides him for "sexual profligacy” and also notes that he sunk to promoting and rewarding retainers based on their ability to procure attractive women for him (and otherwise feed his ego). It notes that he was "only concerned with his personal amusement" and left the government of his domain in the hands of his servants. 

The report calls his retainers (Oishi Yoshio-more on him soon-being one of these) to task for the poor job they had done and brands them as disloyal for not having trained Asano properly. Asano is noted for possessing neither literary nor military skills. It appears that the chief retainers of the Asano feared losing their positions of authority within the clan and did their best to ensure Asano occupied himself primarily by indulging his libido (leaving the direct control of the clan to them). He had no children until late in life, and then only as a result of a 1694 illness that almost killed him. Without an heir, his clan would have had to forfeit their lands, so clan elders convinced him to have children (although by this time Asano had adopted his younger brother and named him heir). However, the lecherous lord continued to party like it was 1799 and continued his wastrels’ ways. So Asano was certainly no devoted family man. He had no real talents to speak of, neglected the running of his fief, and was the subject of ridicule by his contemporaries in Edo. This ridicule increased after his failed assault on Kira, where his swordsmanship and inability to kill an old man he had attacked from behind was mocked in a popular song that made the rounds of Edo at that time. In effect, Asano was much like an Edo period drunken frat boy and the ‘Brick McBurly of his Day’. 

In the garden interlude we also meet Oishi Yoshio. The comic refers to him by his title, Kuranosuke-either name is fine. Yoshio is shown as a serious and capable retainer. In a conversation with Asano, Yoshio cautions him about all the drinking, gambling, corruption, and excesses to be found in Edo. He stresses that Asano must keep his mind firmly on his duties and returning home to his family without incident. Now, given Asano’s predilection for drinking and whoring, the whole idea of Edo probably looked pretty damn good to him-a daimyo ‘Spring Break’, so Yoshio’s speech comes off as somewhat humorous. There also would have been no reason for a speech like that. Remember the Sankin Kotai policy? Asano would have already been in Edo many, many times, spent virtually half of his adult life there, and would be very familiar with the conditions inside the city and Shogun’s court. 

And Oishi was pretty much Asano’s match in the arena of partying. As Andrew Rankin lays out in his book “Seppuku”, “Today an untouchable hero, he was not always known for brilliance. As a young administrator he was nicknamed ‘daytime lantern’ (hiru-andon); in other words, he was useless. He was not good with money, and needed assistance from senior retainers when handling anything financial. His first talent seems to have been for heavy drinking”. He was also one of the vassals condemned by the “Dokai Koshuki” for neglecting Asano’s training and keeping him distracted by supplying him with women. Oishi was the mastermind of a plan where clan leadership issued devalued currency in order to boost their treasury. When the fief was confiscated as a result of Asano’s attack, everyone stuck holding this currency lost half its face value. While this won’t show up in the comic for another couple of issues, after becoming a ronin Oishi was supposed to have put on an elaborate act by consorting with prostitutes and Geisha, getting drunk every single night, and using the remnants of the clan treasury to finance it all. This was supposed to have been a ruse to convince anyone watching he had no intention of taking revenge on Kira. However, it’s far more likely he was just picking up where he left off-it was certainly no act-perhaps his title should have been Kusanosuke. 

Finally, the comic moves to Edo and we meet Kira. There are a couple of minor cultural issues on Pg. 14-one of Kira’s retainers knocks on the shoji to gain entrance, whereas he would never do anything so rude in real life. He’d be announced by a bodyguard sitting outside. Sakai also renders Japanese books incorrectly, giving them a covered spine like Western books would have. No big deal, really, but just indicative of the proceedings. 

Here it would probably be useful to explain the Japanese tradition of gift giving. The comic presents it as a ‘bribe’, corrupt and beneath a real samurai. However, gift giving was (and STILL is) a very important aspect of Japanese society. It was a big part of the samurai lifestyle. As Beatrice Bodart-Bailey explains in “The Dog Shogun,” ”Then as now in Japanese culture it is a form of payment for services rendered or hoped for where no formal system of remuneration exists”. In the comic, Asano at one point bluntly tells Kira that “…let ME be clear…under no circumstance will I pay a bribe to you or any other man”. But let US be clear-you can bet in real life he did, and often. And no one would have seen it as being inappropriate or out of the ordinary. One aspect of the Ronin legend that has consistently amazed us over the years is that no one seems to realize that Asano, as lord of a wealthy province, would constantly be receiving elaborate and costly gifts-or bribes-from vassals, merchants, and others seeking favor with him. So if you want to characterize gift giving as bribes and corrupt, you can start your list alphabetically with Asano. 

But on to Kira-Kira Yoshinaka, according to the comic. But Richardson/Sakai haven’t done their homework here either, since his name is actually Kira Yoshihisa. A letter written in 1703 specified this, and Kira’s own stylized Kao signature preserved at Kezo Temple confirms it. Either way, the comic has him as the most unpleasant, corrupt, grasping and arrogant individual this side of Snidely Whiplash. And once again, they’re wrong. For starters, no evidence exists that Kira demanded a bribe from Asano, that Asano refused him, or that it was the motivation for Asano’s attack. None. Zero. Ziltch. Everything that purports otherwise is a fictional account written years after the fact. There is nothing in Kira’s record to suggest he was anything but what he appeared to be a-a rather typical Edo period bureaucrat who did an excellent job in the performance of his duties. Far from being greedy, he seems to have been quite generous. While not a daimyo and hence not responsible for a fief, Kira made large unsolicited contributions for public works in the area near his country mansion. Kira was certainly no heroic figure, as evidenced by trying to escape Asano’s assault and not attempting to defend himself (something that made him a subject of derision from his contemporaries). Still, Kira was no villain. He was made into one because (Bodart-Bailey again, speaking on the vilification of Kira at the hands of playwrights) “Lauding the slaying of Kira meant praising an act of breaking the law. Hence Kira’s vilification was necessary to justify such illegal behavior as being provoked by an even worse state of affairs”. 

Why, then, did Asano attack him? Certainly there had to be some reason. But the cold, hard truth is that no one knows. Asano refused to tell anyone the reason, and only he knew it. This indicates that divulging the reason would cause him to be seen in an even more negative light. Stephen Turnbull’s “The Revenge of the 47 Ronin” gives a very likely scenario. "By 1701 the 60-year-old-Kira Yoshihisa had served successive Shoguns as a loyal and utterly reliable master of court ceremonies for about 40 years. It was a role that required minute precision to detail and the ability to organize with clockwork precision. A man in that position, one can safely assume, did not suffer fools gladly. When faced, therefore, with having to instruct in etiquette a young daimyo to whom court ceremonial was much less interesting than court ladies, and a man who appeared ignorant of the most basic learning and yet enjoyed an income 11 times greater than his stuffy old teacher, Yoshihisa's self-control was to be tested to the limit". Asano would very likely have been reprimanded sternly by Kira for slackness in his studies, and it’s very easy to imagine he would have chafed and done a slow burn over it, resulting in his backstabbing ambush of Kira. In all fairness, it has to be pointed out that this is also just idle speculation-however, it’s speculation that makes more sense than the Chushingura version. 

And then there's Kamei-sama-or since Richardson/Sakai seem to think ‘Sama’ is a name and not the honorific suffix it is, Kamei Sama. In the comic, Kamei is an even bigger hothead than Asano. He’s always wanting to protect Asano’s honor and reaching for his sword to attack Kira, but always talked down by Asano. Luckily for Kamei, his vassals, unknown to him, have given that evil ‘ol Kira the bribes he craves-so he’s in Kira’s favor. Now, historically, Kamei-sama is quite important. He’s important because any 47 Ronin account that contains him can easily be relegated to the realm of fiction. You see, there was no Kamei-sama assisting Asano. No, Kamei Korechika, the lord of Tsuwano domain in Iwami province, had held in 1698 the position Asano held in 1701. Historically, assisting Asano was Date Muneharu (also known as Muratoyo), the daimyo of Yoshida han in Iyo province. So we can also scratch Kamei Sama from our august proceedings. 

We can also discount the story of Kamei’s vassals gifting Kira without their Lord’s knowledge. This fictional account first appeared in a Chushingura play almost 50 years after the fact in 1748, and was said to have taken place in 1698 when Kamei really was under Kira’s tutelage (but of course, there’s no documentation for it-even the Kamei family records fail to mention it). Further betraying its bogus nature, the incident with Kamei-sama was quickly moved by various works of fiction to 1701 and replaced Date Muneharu to give the episode more impact. 

Kira’s evil nature is further underlined on page 19 when Kira ‘reminds’ Asano he needs to replace 200 tatami mats in the receiving hall by tomorrow. The dastardly villain had earlier told Asano they didn’t need to be replaced, but that was before he didn’t get his bribe, y’know. So Asano is faced with a seemingly impossible task (which humorously causes Kamei Sama to reach for his sword again), but Asano’s such a tremendously talented administrator and inspires such confidence in his vassals, and yes, even the little men that make tatami mats, that he pulls it off. You know where this is going, don’t you? Yep-another totally fictional episode, presented most memorably in Inagaki Hiroshi’s 1962 film version of Chushingura (where 500 mats needed to be replaced and only accomplished by having an Asano vassal substitute himself for a matmaker in a drinking contest). It’s a beautiful, well done and stirring movie, but it’s also a work of unadulterated fiction.

But for real jaw-dropping, stupefying, “what orifice did they pull this out of” impact, nothing can top the account of Asano’s actual attack on Lord Kira detailed on pages 22-26. Here’s the Dark Horse version. Kira enters a room full of assembled dignitaries and thanks them all for their hard work. Everyone, that is, except for Asano, who he (among other pleasantries) calls ‘less gifted, ‘less able’, a lousy listener who does lousy work, and an embarrassment. Our old friend Kamei-sama goes to draw his sword to stick up for his pal but is dissuaded by the stalwart Asano. As Asano exits the room, Kira can’t resist a parting shot and calls him a stupid country farmer. NOW Asano draws his sword and charges Kira, but drops it and apologizes profusely when Kira reminds him of the consequences of drawing his sword in the Shogun’s castle. Well, that mean ol’ bastard Kira walks right up to Asano and kicks him in the face, then strolls off chortling and heaping more verbal abuse on him! Asano throws his short sword at Kira to get his attention, burying it in the woodwork next to his head. Then he pulls his long sword (Sakai mistakenly portrays all the samurai wearing two swords, whereas indoors they would only be carrying their short sword) and charges Kira, wounding him in the face. Other samurai restrain Asano while Kamei Sama bleats out a protest (he’s quite the busybody for someone who didn’t exist). Asano calmly tells Kamei to stand down and stoically states he will accept the consequences of his actions. Hoo-boy. We’re surprised Kira wasn’t shown dancing a celebratory jig from “Riverdance” as Asano was escorted out. 

Now, as it happens, there exists an eyewitness account of Asano’s assault. It was written by one Kajikawa Yosobei, who was a supervisory official in the Ooku (the women’s quarters of Edo Castle). Yosobei was chatting to Kira regarding rescheduling the giving of gifts from the Shogun’s consort to the Emperor’s representatives. Here’s his account of the attack: Asano appeared from nowhere, began screaming, and attacked Kira from behind, slightly wounding him in the back. Shocked, Kira whirled around to face Asano, began to back pedal, and was slightly wounded again on his face, causing him to fall to the ground. Kajikawa restrained Asano. The other samurai in the room came to Kajikawa’s aid and drug Asano into the Willow Room, with the daimyo of Ako screaming the whole time. 

Now tell us- 

1) If you claim to be writing a historically accurate account, how in the world do you totally ignore the ONLY EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE ASSAULT? 

2) Even worse, why would you come up with an alternate universe where VIRTUALLY NOTHING happens the way it did? The Dark Horse account is even more fanciful than the most hero-worshipping of the 47 Ronin films or plays. 

3) Asano sure sounds like a psycho, doesn’t he? Lousy swordsman, too, just like the Shogunal report said. 

Ironically, the book ends with Kamei-sama stating “I fear this can only end badly”. He’s certainly right if he’s talking about the comic series. 

For most of this stuff, we put the onus on Richardson as he’s the writer. However, Sakai has more than his share of culpability. Let’s take a look at a single panel-the nice looking splash page featuring the Shogun’s Palace (actually the Shogun’s Castle) from page 13. It contains a multitude of cultural and historical errors ranging from the minor to ridiculously obvious. For starters, Sakai has town buildings and shops located directly outside of Edo castle’s walls. This is incorrect-there were daimyo mansions ringing Edo castle’s outer walls, part of its defense plan. And even they wouldn’t have been next to the walls-the castle had (still has) massive moats. Sakai has the walls with gun loopholes that were built out of plaster constructed out of stone instead. He has the tenshu of Edo castle right next to the outer walls when it would have been located far, far beyond them with a maze of enclosures and other buildings in between. He has the Edo Castle tenshu rendered as a double structure (much like the current versions of Odawara or Nagoya castle) instead of the single five story structure it was. But that really doesn’t matter, because in 1701 EDO CASTLE DIDN’T HAVE A TENSHU. It burned down in the great Edo fire of 1657 and was never rebuilt. Sakai does state in an interview given for the book that “I learned that that part of the castle has burned down twice since this (Asano’s assault on Lord Kira) happened”, but it appears he was talking about the Hall Of Pines and not the tenshu. Sakai later goes on to add that “most of it I just made up”. He also states that “The 47 were ordered to commit seppuku by the Shogunate, and they did it at Sengakuji Temple.” In fact, only 46 were sentenced to death and only one of them committed seppuku, the rest being beheaded in mock seppuku ceremonies. And NONE of their deaths happened at Sengakuji Temple (hard as it is to believe ;) , Buddhist temples aren’t particularly happy being used as execution grounds), but at the four separate daimyo mansions they were being held in. So much for Sakai’s self-styled rigorous research ethic and “tremendous research library”. While Sakai does seem marginally better informed than Richardson about the actual history of the Ronin, for some reason he didn’t feel the need to let Mike in on the secret. Why? Probably because he had little interest in sticking to a historically accurate representation of the Ronin, wanting instead to do a standard jidaigeki-fueled fantasy treatment. 

We’re not going to be reviewing the last four issues of this series-frankly, our heart wouldn’t be able to take the strain and our head would explode. But here are a few fearless predictions of what you’ll probably see (FANTASY) followed by what really was (FACT): 

FANTASY: The Ronin will invade Kira’s heavily fortified fortress, swarming with elite guards and booby traps. They take great care to spare innocent servants. Even though heavily outnumbered, they’ll decimate the opposition and ferret out Kira’s spider hole. 

FACT: Kira’s mansion was just a standard Edo period hatamoto mansion-no traps, no fortifications other than an outside wall that they all had. The Ronin outnumbered Kira’s guards by anywhere from 2-1 to 16-1 (depending on what account you believe-2-1 actually seems the most likely). They slaughtered several household staff. They did, however, decimate the opposition and ferret out Kira’s spider hole. Having armor and arms and being awake when your enemy is sleeping, unarmed, and unarmored does that. 

FANTASY: Terasaka Kichiemon, the 47th Ronin will after the assault be ordered by Oishi to carry news of their success to Asano’s widow. Terasaka this way avoids being sentenced to death with the other 46. 

FACT: Terasaka was ordered to leave the group right before the raid, not to inform anyone of anything but rather because the Ronin as a whole decided his rank was too low for him to be part of the group. This is borne out by the Ronin’s own writings while in captivity and awaiting sentencing. He did indeed avoid their fate. There’s an excellent episode of the TV drama ‘Abarenbo Shogun’ where Terasaka royally rips the Ronin and Asano for not thinking of their families and vassals when pursuing their violent goals. 

FANTASY: It will be gleefully reported that Kira’s grandson, Yoshichika, was forced to commit seppuku for not having successfully defended his grandfather (despite incurring several wounds in doing so). The Uesugi family (Kira’s relatives by marriage) will be said to have had its domain cut almost in half for not sending troops to attack the Ronin at Sengakuji Temple after the raid. 

FACT: The document this was based on has been shown to be a forgery prepared much later. Instead, Yoshichika was banished to Kai province and the Kira family lost its hereditary position as ‘Master Of Shogunal Ceremony’. They later regained their hatamoto status but didn’t regain the office, as it was now the hereditary post of another clan. Nothing happened to the Uesugi clan. The last thing the Shogunate would have wanted was to have unsanctioned warfare and chaos break out on the streets of Edo. 

FANTASY: The Ronin will be shown stoically and heroically performing seppuku (ritual suicide). It seems Sakai plans to have this happen at Sengakuji. 

FACT: As we outlined above, the deaths of the Ronin occurred at the four separate daimyo mansions they were being held at. Only one of the 46 actually committed seppuku. The remaining 45 were beheaded in mock seppuku ceremonies. This is borne out by the official accounts given by the presiding officials at each mansion. Now, given that the comic is pure fantasy, that Koike Kazuo is listed as an editorial consultant and he’s the creator of “Lone Wolf And Cub”-wouldn’t it kick ass to have Shogunal Executioner Ogami Itto carrying out the executions ? It’d be worth picking up just for that. 

So thanks for nothing, Dark Horse. You had a chance to live up to your reputation and help bring the real story of the Ronin to a mass market audience. Instead, you couldn’t even keep the promises of historical accuracy you made in your press releases and gave thousands of readers a fantasy account that they’ll believe because you told them they can. Richardson and Sakai should be ashamed of themselves. If as they claim they truly believe in the virtues that the fantasy version of the Ronin represent (like honor and personal responsibility) they’d at least put a disclaimer on the inside cover of future issues that declares their adaptation is based on the Chushingura plays and movies and not on historical fact. Even a cad who’s as evil, corrupt, and jaded as say…the historical Asano would think that’s fair.

Stephen Turnbull, Slayer of Ronin

Most everyone with an interest in pre-modern Japanese history (and we're assuming that's anyone reading this) knows of Stephen Turnbull. Describing himself as "one of the world's foremost military historians of the medieval and early modern periods", Turnbull is usually lauded by those new to the field and panned by those with some experience. Relying heavily on Edo period legends and secondary sources, his books make for entertaining reading but usually contain a healthy dose of misconceptions, errors, and editing that would make a fifth grader cringe. He's a polarizing personality on the Samurai Archives Citadel forum. While we've reviewed several of his books favorably, we've still taken him to task for the overall sloppiness and careless nature of some of his books.

For several months we've known that Turnbull was writing a book on the 47 Ronin. You all know the story-or at least the popular version where the 47 shining paragons of Bushido led by the stalwart Oishi Kuranosuke slay the evil and corrupt Lord Kira who was responsible for the death of their fair minded, upstanding and exemplary Lord Asano. As we've pointed out many, many times over the years (on both the forum and the Shogun-ki) the legend did not stand up under the glare of critical analysis. Asano was a loutish lecher, Oishi was a drunkard long before being made ronin and neglected his duties in training Asano, and Kira was a typical Edo period bureaucrat. The Ronin were more concerned at first with keeping their positions. After the Asano house was abolished, many possibly hoped to parlay a successful raid into pardons and new jobs. The question was, would "The Revenge of the 47 Ronin-Edo 1703" follow the newest findings, or would Turnbull stick with the dearly held Edo period legends he had espoused in his earlier books?

The first thing we usually do with a new book is to check out its sources and bibliography. While being an Osprey book, it was a foregone conclusion it wouldn't have footnotes or endnotes. But the sources Turnbull used were some of the best, up-to-date scholarly sources on the Ako Incident available. Numbered among them was Beatrice Bodart-Bailey's "The Dog Shogun", "Genroku Ako Jiken", and the landmark series of articles appearing in Monumenta Nipponica by Henry Smith and others that began to question seriously the validity of the Ronin legend.

It being a Turnbull book, it was also loaded with a variety of excellent photos, maps, prints, and plates. There are maps showing the likely layout of Kira's mansion (just a typical hatamoto mansion, not a fortified stronghold as often depicted), the route taken by the Ronin after the assault, and spots along the Tokaido road stretching from Edo to Kyoto (and stretching to Ako) that figured in the legend. There's also an excellent chart giving the names of each of the Ronin that specifies what unit they were assigned to during the raid and the weapon they are traditionally associated with. It also gives the 'aliases' that the Ronin were known by in prints and plays that were produced in the aftermath of the assault on Kira's mansion-writers and artists during the Edo period were forbidden to use the names of post-15th century historic personages in their works.

But what about the text?!?! It's divided into chapters on the Chronology, Origins (including Asano's failed assault on Kira), Initial Strategy, The Plan, The Raid, and an Analysis. And Turnbull absolutely nails it. He's delivered the goods-in spades. He pulls no punches when it comes to tearing down the walls of the legend that has grown up around the Ronin. Up to date on the latest scholarship (such as the recent discovery that Kira's name wasn't 'Yoshinaka' but 'Yoshihisa'), Turnbull clearly points out where fiction and fact don't mesh, and even gives great care when using dates (presented both as Japanese lunar dates and their Western equivalents). He presents all the different theories surrounding the '47th Ronin', Terasaka Nobuyuki (who either ran off before the raid or was told by the other Ronin to leave), concluding that whatever happened it was highly unlikely that he was sent as a messenger to inform the Asano family the raid had succeeded. And he does it all in his typical entertaining manner-some of our favorite short passages from the book:

"...I (Turnbull) shared fully and largely uncritically in the concepts and images provided by the popular version of the story..."

"...I sat peacefully with a cup of tea while a priest (at Kezo-ji) calmly explained to me how everything I had ever read about the Forty-Seven Ronin was complete nonsense".

"...hardly a word of it is true. The date was 1703, not 1702. Their victim's name was Yoshihisa not Yoshinaka. He was no coward. Greed and treachery were not involved and he played almost no part in Asano's death. Not all of Asano's 270 former retainers joined the plot or even sympathized with it. Religion played almost no part in their deliberations. The secrecy involved in their convoluted plot compounded the utter illegality and underhand nature of their act, to which the Shogun responded correctly by invoking the law of the land. The reaction by their contemporaries involved condemnation in addition to admiration, with both the Forty-Seven Ronin and their late lord being dismissed as cowards and a disgrace to the name of samurai. Finally, instead of 47 loyal samurai there were (according to some authorities) actually only 46, or maybe even 48. In fairness to the popular account, however, I can assure the baffled reader that on the night the raid was launched it was indeed snowing".

"By 1701 the 60-year-old-Kira Yoshihisa had served successive Shoguns as a loyal and utterly reliable master of court ceremonies for about 40 years. It was a role that required minute precision to detail and the ability to organize with clockwork precision. A man in that position, one can safely assume, did not suffer fools gladly. When faced, therefore, with having to instruct in etiquette a young daimyo to whom court ceremonial was much less interesting than court ladies, and a man who appeared ignorant of the most basic learning and yet enjoyed an income 11 times greater than his stuffy old teacher, Yoshihisa's self-control was to be tested to the limit".

(about Asano) "The main means of promotion among his retainers appeared to be their success in obtaining women for him. He was surrounded by flatterers and toadies. These flatterers and toadies included, of course, the future Forty-seven Ronin".

"...the population who lived in the gaudy world of Genroku craved a more direct heroism of a bygone age. If Kira Yoshihisa represented anything at all to them, it was the ordered, compassionate, legalistic and very boring world of the Shogun Tsunayoshi, not the exciting world of the sword-wielding samurai. To embrace this world the public had to ignore deceit, deception and a callous massacre, and, by creating a demand for the enduring myth of the Forty-Seven Ronin, ignore it they did".

Bravo! For all that, Turnbull keeps his tone as neutral as possible, never vilifying the Ronin needlessly or downplaying their well organized and carried out assault. He's not pursuing any sort of agenda and it makes for a fair and balanced presentation of the facts.

We found the section of the book dealing with the '17 Loyal Retainers of Lord Kira' to be the most intriguing (these being the 17 people killed by the Ronin during the raid). Contrary to what many Japanese sources state, it seems that Kira had 14 armed guards in the mansion on the night of the assault (not the 3-5 that are usually given). This changes the perception of the raid quite a bit-rather than a nine to one advantage in numbers, the Ronin instead appear to have enjoyed only a three to one superiority (and also means that they only killed three civilians, not the nine or so they are usually blamed for). Turnbull does an excellent job of backing up his statement, examining Kira's stipend and breaking it down into the composition of the troops the Bakufu would expect him to provide. The final tally matches almost perfectly with the numbers seen at the Kira mansion on the night of the raid. Turnbull also examines the 17 names given on the memorial to Kira's retainers at the former site of his mansion in Matsusaka Park in Tokyo, where it's shown that 14 are samurai. It's excellent work and Turnbull is to be commended for it.

The book is rounded out by a short examination of the Ronin in art and literature, a guide to the sites and memorials associated with the raid, and suggestions for further reading. The cottage industry that the Ronin have become (second perhaps only to the 'Bum of Tosa', Sakamoto Ryoma) is borne out in a photo of a souvenir shop loaded to the rafters with 47 Ronin items.

There are a few minor issues with the book. For example, Turnbull states that the Ronin committed ritual suicide, whereas (except for one) they were all beheaded BEFORE beginning the act. There are also the typical editing and spelling problems that Turnbull's books are notorious for. I'm sure there will be other minor issues that will crop up when we subject the book to an in-depth reading, but considering its overall excellence and copious new information, these are just small blemishes.

However, not all the latest Turnbull/Ronin news is encouraging. It should be noted that according to an interview on the University of Leeds site, Turnbull acted as the historical consultant on the upcoming Keanu Reeves version of the 47 Ronin story being filmed in Hollywood. According to Turnbull, "I've was asked to be historical adviser on a new film that's being made starring Keanu Reeves. The producers wanted it to be as historically and culturally accurate as possible, so they consulted me - which was incredibly exciting!"

This 'historically and culturally accurate' film will also be including 'computer generated fantastic creatures'. And the sad thing is, the fantastic creatures will likely be far more historically accurate than the film's portrayal of the 47 Ronin story.

And speaking of 'fantastic creatures based on beasts', we decided to put the book to its ultimate test. Cracking open the chained door of the Samurai Archives fruit cellar a couple of inches, we tossed down a copy. Down below, we heard the bellow of disbelief from the imprisoned 47 Ronin cultists, followed shortly by the chaos of their death throes. Mission accomplished!

In our opinion this is far and away Turnbull's best book to date with the possible exception of "The Kakure Kirishitan of Japan". It immediately becomes the best English language book on the 47 Ronin (it should be noted that the West's preeminent scholar on the Ako Ronin, Henry Smith, has yet to author a book on the subject). Given Turnbull's following in pop culture history, it's no exaggeration that with this single work he may have slain the 47 Ronin-or at least the legend that for far too long has been accepted as fact. While it will take years to fully be relegated to the realm of fiction and fantasy, Turnbull has taken the first steps towards introducing the real story to the world of non-academia. Since it's a revelation that many of his readers might be highly resistant to and might cost him a few of them, it was a bold move. With the steady improvement of his work over the past five years and his increasingly ambitious research ethic, one hopes that THIS is the Stephen Turnbull we continue to see.  Be sure to pick up your copy at the Samurai Archives Bookstore, powered by Amazon.com.