Chushingura (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers): A Puppet Play

As someone who has been into numerous Japanese martial arts, (Judo, Jujitsu, Karate-D0, Kenjutsu, Wakizashi-Jutsu, Tanto-Jutsu), as well as the cultural poetry arts of Haiku and Senryu, I have read the story of the 47 Ronin of which this book, (Chushingua: The treasury of loyal retainers), is based upon.This is also probably the most famous puppet theater show (Buntaku) in Japan. There have also been a few movies made on this well-known Japanese tale of the 47 Ronin (Free-lance Master less Samurai).I never like to give away too much information when reviewing any type of novel, but in summary, this is a story about loyalty, betrayal, and revenge involving the royalty of the Japanese court back in the Samurai days of 1800s. If you are interested in understanding the unique Japanese cultural practices followed in the early years of Japan this is a book you will enjoy. Keep in mind that there are aspects and actions of the early Japanese Samurai culture in this book that may be difficult to understand; nevertheless, I enjoyed this Japanese tale.Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Tanto Jutsu Techniques: An official manual of Bushi Satori Ryu).

"Chushingura" is Japan's "Romeo and Juliet". Not literally, of course, as the stories are very different, but in the way that it is a story that every Japanese person knows. Based on an actual incident, the story has been glorified and told and re-told for every generation, and still reverberates in hearts today. It is also, traditionally, a very hard story for Westerners to come to grips with, because the morals on display are not what we would consider to be admirable.Loyalty is something we can admire, of course, but this is unearned loyalty. The 47 Ronin do not avenge their lord because he was a good man, because he is worthy of their loyalty. They avenge him because he is their Master, and because he was born to be their master. The samurai also did not earn their position, they were born samurai, as an inherited class. Their job, rank and income was all decided the moment they drew their first breath, along with whom they would owe their loyalty to. The very word "samurai" translates as "servant", and without someone to serve they have no purpose. They uphold an inherently unfair system, as shown by their unwillingness to include a merchant in their vendetta, not because his courage is less but because his birth-determined class is lower than theirs.Donald Keene has performed a minor miracle with his translation of "Chushingura: The Treasury of Loyal Retainers". First off, his introduction deals with the inherent difficulties in the work. Even in Japan, since the inception of the work their has been debate on who are the heroes and who are the villains. A hotheaded lord sacrifices his life, family, home and the lives of the hundreds who depend on him simply because he could not swallow an insult. His personal pride was more important to him than all of these people's lives, all of whom paid his price. Keene shows the various points of view, the commentary given by Japanese authors over the years, and the way the story has been interpreted to support the various viewpoints of society.On top of that, he has created a thrilling translation, one that can be read as a novel and is hard to put down once started. Think what you may of the moral lesson, the story itself is pure adrenalin, and it is hard not to cheer for the sword-hard loyalty that drives the 47 Ronin. In this translation, there is no dispute as to who the heroes are, even as they sell their wives into prostitution in order to raise funds for the vendetta, or willing slit the throats of their own children in order to prove their earnestness. Keene also provides annotations for some of the more obscure references and translations, especially the references to famous Chinese poems and allegories which are abundant.I picked up this book thinking it was going to be a study guide for Japan's most famous story, hoping to glean some insight into a tale I have seen dozens of times in different interpretations. I got that, but what I also got was a great book, fun and exciting to read. I wasn't expecting that at all.

son asked for it. seems really happy with it. haven't read it myself

Popularly known as the Tale of the 47 Ronin, this is one of the most famous stories in Japanese history and literature - and one well worth knowing because it is so basic to an understanding of Japanese culture. Based on a series of actual events at the beginning of the 18th century, Chushingura tells the story of a group of samurai who have lost their Master to ritual suicide ("seppuku"). The suicide was ordered as honorable atonement for the master's purportedly unjustified treatment of a court official. The term "Ronin" refers to samurai (also known as "retainers") who are masterless - which usually means their master (lord, or daimyo) has been killed or disgraced.In this story the samurai, now left on their own as ronin, plot revenge against that court official. Without going further with the story, it's impact was to underscore the basic Japanese virtues of loyalty, bravery, and self-sacrifice. You'll find treatments of this famous historical incident throughout Japanese literature, art, film and drama. This version was written for the puppet theater, known as Bunraku. I don't want to take time to detail bunraku here, other than to say that it is powerful drama which uses large "puppets" - animated by people rather than strings, as in the West. This particular puppet play is one of the most highly regarded treatments of the ronin story.Here's an interesting footnote to the drama, which was written in 1748 - nearly half a century after the actual event in 1703. Chushingura takes place in 1338 - almost four centuries earlier than the event. Why? Government policy forbade portrayal of recent events in the arts. (In the long span of Japanese history a half century qualified as "recent".) The shoguns wouldn't brook criticism of their rule, which often was the intent baked into drama or woodblock prints. Nor would they tolerate art which stirred popular passions based on current events like murder or suicide. A pacified populace going about its mundane business was the best assurance against revolution. So dramatists and artists wishing to exploit recent events for commercial gain routinely disguised their characters as long-ago figures of history and legend, and transplanted their plots back in time accordingly.

I bumped into this play by chance. I'm a student of English and Japanese language and literature and last year I decided to graduate with a degree about the Ako accident. Literally gasped in astonishment for the amount of material I found. This in play is something amazing: the celebration of Bushido, the comical moments, the way in which the authors dramatized the story is incredible. I've also loved the translation and the notes by Donald Keene, a master as usual. Absolutely recommended!