47 Ronin: Book Review.

The tale of the 47 ronin (Ako Incident) is immortalised in kabuki theatre. It has been told and retold since 1748 and is popular for its theme concerning samurai loyalty. I would classify John Allyn's 47 Ronin as historical fiction. It is historical fact that around 1701, a samurai called Asano Naganori attacked the Shogun's Master of Ceremony, Kira Kozukenosuke Yoshinaka inside the Shogun's palace. He was asked on the very same day to commit ritual suicide. It is also historical fact that 47 of Asano's samurai raided Kira's mansion about a year and a half later to avenge their lord's death. What John Allyn does is fill in the gaps and makes some assumptions to bring the characters to life. Therefore I see this as historical fiction. 

This story is very well known and popular in Japan. John Allyn is an author from the United States who has lived in Japan and has placed his own take on the historical event. Overall I thought he gave the story a good shot. I think having some knowledge of feudal Japan would help the reader as the author does not give very much information on this front. It actually feels like Allyn assumes the reader knows the guts of the story and therefore concentrates on the lives of Asano's retainers during the period after their lord's death and prior to their attack on Kira's estate. I found the chief retainer believable as he tried to keep the band of ex-samurai together, balancing the hotheads from those who were willing to step away from the whole mess. It is a book that is written plainly but not unlike the style of Eiji Yoshikawa's Musashi. Where the writer does not spend very long on characterisation. There is an intriguing quality to this style of writing and I still felt pulled along by the story even though I knew the outcome. The story also portray's Kira as the bad guy and Asano as the noble country samurai. This is the 'official' view of the characters according the kabuki play. The historical figures may in fact be something quite different. 

If you know the story of the 47 ronin then this English version might be an interesting take on the old Japanese tale. 

Oh, by the way, the movie starring Keanu Reeves is NOTHING like the actual tale. So if that is your only reference then prepare to get an education.