47 Ronin Summary

47 Ronin The purpose of this novel is to give an accurate retelling of the original 47 ronin from 1701 in Japan. John Allyn Jr. is incredibly qualified to retell this story. He attended the Army Specialized Training Program at Stanford University in 1944, where he majored in Japanese language. He later attended the Army Intensive Japanese Language School at the University of Michigan in 1945. He worked as Pictorial Censor of the Civil Censorship Detachment of G2, SCAP, in Osaka and Tokyo during the first four years of the U.S. occupation of Japan. He returned to America and attended UCLA where he received his master's degree in Theater Arts in 1951. This novel gives readers a look into the world of feudal Japan with a decent amount of exciting
Japan was in a place of constant change towards the beginning of the 18th century. While the Shogun, Tsunayoshi, attempted to expand his control, the social classes were changing; a system that was once enforced by the samurai was being taken away and replaced. Asano and his samurai were the exception. From the beginning, the concept of honor and redemption is obvious. Lord Asano is an honorable man who is attempting to live by the laws set by Shogun Tsunayoshi. Asano is prompted to bribe Kira (master of ceremonies), but due to his tradition values, Asano refuses. In an attempt to protect himself from the bribery and corruption, he injures Kira. Asano was allowed to commit seppuku, and it was a disgrace to the honor and tradition of traditional Japanese values. Following the death of Lord Asano, his masterless samurai become obsessed on getting revenge. After learning that Kira had survived they become obsessed to avenge Asano and redeem his name. Following the Confucian saying, “No man may live under the same sky with the murderer of his lord,” and they go to avenge on the death of their master. This book is organized like most other novels in chronological order with chapters and is orientated in third person. It was very readable and honestly an enjoyable read. The only flaw I see is the amount of dialogue that is in this book. John Allyn