49694(community total) + 128 (my reviews) = 49822
11 Likes
49822 (community total) + 54 (my reviews) = 49876
11 Likes
49876 (community total) + 39 (my reviews) = 49915
10 Likes
49915 (community total) + 43 (my reviews) = 49,958
@jrmr50 I’ve tried to join the book club before but I can’t ever get the books. The bookwalker site never sends me a verify email so I can’t make an account (tried before and tried again today). The other sites aren’t recommended but after getting a bad taste from book walker I never tried. Amazon exists but I can’t ever search the books on it even after downloading their kindle app. I would like to join those things but sometimes I think fate itself tells me “no”.
Also, not that it matters, the book is only free on amazon not the other sites for me. Which I can’t get to work anyways.
Thanks though
10 Likes
49958 (community total) + 35 (my reviews) = 49993
11 Likes
49993 (community total) + 53 (my reviews) = 50046
10 Likes
50046 (community total) + 30 (my reviews) = 50076
11 Likes
50076 (community total) + 73 (my reviews) = 50149
11 Likes
@Superpnut If you are OK with spending some money to get a physical book, i highly recommand manga republic ! The used books are actually just as good as new and the price range is OK (around 10 euros, no delivery cost). And the service is just amazing… Got my copy of ハピネス delivered in less than 7 days from Japan to France !
11 Likes
50149 + 30 = 50179
10 Likes
50179 (community total) + 139 (my reviews) = 50318
11 Likes
50318 (community total) + 24 (my reviews) = 50342
11 Likes
50342 (community total) + 102 (my reviews) = 50444
Just plonking yesterday’s in because it’s been a while. I’ll bung today’s reviews up later!
10 Likes
50444 (community total) + 45 (my reviews) = 50489
11 Likes
50489 (community total) + 13 (my reviews) = 50502
12 Likes
50502(community total) + 24 (my reviews) = 50526
11 Likes
50526 (community total) + 61 (my reviews) = 50587
10 Likes
50587 (community total) + 53 (my reviews) = 50640
About 139 years in: 1702
1701 was the beginning of the famous story of the 47 Ronin, or the Akō incident.
I’m sure most of you have heard the story or seen the many movies or images related to it.
Daimyo Asano was working with Lord Kira while on official duties in the Shogun’s castle for a special event for the emperor. There was constant friction between the two for several reasons, which then turned into heated arguments. Asano finally lost his temper at lord Kira one night, and attacked him, causing only a minor wound. However, this was a serious offence as they were in the shoguns residence, and Kira was an official of the Emperor, therefore he was ordered to commit seppuku. His lands were confiscated, family shamed, and all of his Samurai retainers made Ronin. About a year and a half later in 1703, a senior retainer named Oishi Yoshino had arranged to meet 46 other men that were still loyal to their lord Asano and wanted revenge. They spent months planning what they would do and how to do it, until they finally agreed on a plan. An interesting aspect was the deceptive and 忍び-style way they went about the planning of the attack. Conspiring was illegal and Kira himself had sent spies to watch them, particularly Oishi, so they went to great lengths to throw off any investigation. They created a number of safe houses to meet in, they took lowly jobs, divorced their wife’s, and Oishi himself gave the appearance of a drunkard: frequenting brothels and falling asleep in the streets… or so it seemed. Then one night, they met up in Edo and attacked Kira’s mansion, killing a number of his guards, and finally taking Kira’s head. From there, they marched back to their lord Asano’s grave to present the head of Kira. Although they had directly defied the Shoguns orders, they had followed the old principles of Samurai by avenging their lord, and many people admired them for it. Therefore instead of being executed, they were allowed to commit honourable seppuku, therefore retaining their honour and saving their families from shame.
As usual there is a lot of exaggeration or fantasy put into these stories to make them more entertaining, part of what we see in the media about this story comes from stage plays or books written 100 years later. For example, Kira is always portrayed as the evil villain, when records show he was a fair and respected lord. Interestingly the other side of the story not usually told is the condemnation they received. While they immediately had a lot of supporters for their actions, many others thought they were nothing more than vigilantes or criminals, particularly as by 1703 was well into the peaceful Edo period, there was no need for ‘large scale’ violence such as this. Why also did they wait almost 2 years to carry out their attack, if they were going to do it as a Samurai to retain their honor, they should have immediately set out after Kira, instead of cowardly waiting for so long. Also consider that Asano directly insulted the Emperor by attacking one of his high ranking officials, so he got what you would expect as punishment for the time. They didn’t receive such universal admiration until much later, when the stories where being re-told for entertainment, and it became a symbol of samurai loyalty and justice against evil.
So what are your thoughts on the 47 Ronin? Who were they? honourable samurai, hero’s, criminals, or just a gangland revenge murder. Or more likely, just a reflection of the times, doing something that seemed like the right thing to do given the immediate violent past of the country and the associated culture.
19 Likes
50640 (community total) + 83 (my reviews) = 50723
10 Likes
50723 (community total) + 58 (my reviews) = 50781
9 Likes