The Ak¿ Vendetta

The Akō Vendetta or the Revenge of the 47 Loyal Rōnin, is beyond doubt the most popular revenge story to have been brought forth by Japan's long feudal period.

Its outline is simple. On 31 January 1703, 47 loyal retainers avenged their lord, Daimyō Asano Naganori, by killing the Tokugawa bakufu's Master of Ceremonies, Kira Yoshinaka. Two years earlier, on 21 April 1701, the shogunate had ordered Naganori to commit ritual suicide after he had drawn a short sword and wounded Yoshinaka during an audience of three imperial envoys with Shôgun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi.

It is nevertheless vexingly complicated: Why did Naganori kill Yoshinaka? Why did Yoshinaka go free? Why did it take the 47 retainers almost two years to wreak their revenge. And why, despite being feted as heroes-even by the shōgun-were they ordered to commit ritual suicide?

This book carefully pieces together the full and true story of this quintessential samurai story. It does so by copiously drawing from the original sources, whilst providing a rich context with contemporary maps, illustrations, and numerous explanatory topics. Most groundbreaking are a number of hitherto unpublished letters by the chief protagonists, giving the reader fresh insights into their motives and feelings-including the story's tragic hero, Asano Naganori.