47 Ronin - John Allyn

Written by John Allyn
Read by David Shih
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: HighBridge
Awards:Earphones Award
Release date: November 26, 2013
Duration: 07:29:29

Stephen Turnbull – Forward

A classic tale that will captivate lovers of Japan, history, and epic adventure alike.

47 Ronin Story is the classic Japanese story of Lord Asano of Ako and one of the bloodiest vendettas in Japan’s feudal history.

In 1701, young Lord Asano is goaded into attacking a corrupt official at the Japanese Court. Although the wound Asano inflicts is minimal, the Emperor’s punishment is harsh: Lord Asano is ordered to commit seppuku, or ritual suicide. His lands are confiscated and his family is dishonored and exiled. His samurai retainers now become ronin, or masterless, and are dispersed.

These ronin are not trusted by their enemies, and live under the watchful eyes of spies for months. They appear to adapt to their new circumstances by becoming tradesmen and teachers. But the ronin only seem to accept their fate. They are in fact making careful plans for revenge, biding their time until the moment to strike is right! Their deeds became Japan’s most celebrated example of bravery, cunning, and loyalty in an age when samurai were heroes, and honor was worth dying for.

John Allyn’s masterful retelling of 47 Ronin (1970) has long been considered the definitive version of these dramatic historical events

Note – The Keanu Reaves film version (2013) of the book got poor reviews. It was said not to resemble the book very much. As far back as 1941 the Japanese filmed versions of a play based on the incident. When I was a youngster, and so was television, Japanese historical-era “Samurai films” were routinely shown on PBS, often highly censored. Japanese films did not shy away from nudity and “explicit content.” As most people know, The Magnificent Seven is the US version of Seven Samurai, Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece. I still love his films…..history lesson over.