A manga about the 47 Ronin
It's called "47 Ronin"
On days when I randomly don’t have to work (because dispatch thinks I just crap money in my spare time) I load the kiddies into the minivan and lug them down to the library, where they put their legendary talents for quietness on display. We get a few books, I peruse the titles, I make sure that she/they hasn’t put any anti-tradfam propo in the picture book section, and once they’re settled in, I take to cruising.
A recent trip found me in the graphic novel section, where I came across this lovely little gem by Sean Michael Wilson, with illustrations from Akiko Shimojima.
This is an event from Japanese history that I’ve been meaning to read up on. I have an audiobook on it, I just haven’t gotten through it yet, but I will this year. Basically in 1703, a Japanese lord named Asuno retaliated against a higher lord named Kira, who had violated certain codes by repeatedly issuing insults to Asuno. As punishment for his retaliation, Asuno had to commit suicide and the 47 samurai under his command became Ronin, or samurai without masters.
Out of loyalty to Asuno, the 47 Ronin put on a public facade of drunkenness and slovenly living, so that Kira and his agents wouldn’t suspect they were plotting revenge. The moment they let their guard down, the 47 Ronin went Full Metal Awesome on Kira’s house, culminating in a night of violence that saw Kira executed.
Being a graphic novel, I’m sure a lot of details were left out, but I thought this was helpful for getting the main points lined up in my head. I still don’t know enough about Japan’s government or culture from my own time period, let alone an era that predates the USA by 70 years, so bear with me.
Also, it should be noted that the art style (as well as the uniform manner of dress and grooming) makes it almost impossible to tell a lot of the characters apart. The writer and artist do enough so that if you just read through, you get what’s happening. I finished this whole book in probably thirty minutes.
Anyway, worth checking it out at your library.