The Forty-Seven Rōnin

"The Forty-seven Rōnin vendetta is one of the most famous incidents in Japanese history, but it is also one of the most misunderstood. This book seeks to provide, via critical analyses of relevant documents, a credible account of the vendetta and its afterlife in history. It suggests that when considered historically and holistically, the vendetta appears as a site of contested cultural ground, with conflicts, disagreements, and debates characterizing its three-century history far more than cultural unanimity about its values, virtues, and icons" --