Samurai Tales : Courage, Fidelity and Revenge in the Final Years of the Shogun

257 Pages·2011·3.33 MB·English

by  Romulus Hillsborough

SAMURAI
TALES

Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd., with
editorial offices at 364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, Vermont 05759
U.S.A.
Copyright © 2010 Jeff Cohen All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage
and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hillsborough, Romulus.
Samurai tales: stories of courage, honor, and fidelity from the final years of the
shogun / Romulus Hillsborough.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4629-0081-7
1. Samurai--History--19th century. 2. Japan--History--Restoration, 1853-1870.
I. Title.
DS827.S3H533 2010
952.03'1--dc22
2010008104
ISBN 978-1-4629-0081-7
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Contents
List of Illustrations viii
Acknowledgments ix
Note on Japanese Pronunciation x
Foreword xi
Author’s Note xiv
Preface xvi
Introduction: On the Samurai (by Kiyoharu Omino) xviii
Dramatis Personae xxx
Chapter 1 To Cut a Foreigner 1
Chapter 2 A Mortal Enemy 11
Chapter 3 Courage 21
Chapter 4 Fidelity 31
Chapter 5 Heaven’s Revenge” 41
Chapter 6 The Remnants of Shock 51
Chapter 7 “A Truly Despicable World” 61
Chapter 8 A Soul-Encompassing Dread 69
Chapter 9 The Code 83
Chapter 10 The Execution Grounds 91
Chapter 11 Cutting Test 101
Chapter 12 A Natural and Overwhelming Desire 109
Chapter 13 Discipline 119
Chapter 14 “The Infinite Sky and Boundless Sea” 125
Chapter 15 Disgrace 137
Chapter 16 An Evil Woman 147
Chapter 17 Tales of a Renaissance Samurai 155
Chapter 18 Anecdotes, Yarns and Other Vignettes 169
Chapter 19 A Brief Historical Background of the Meiji Restoration187
Family Crests and Symbols 207
Glossary of Japanese Terms 208
Index 213
“The sword is in the man.”
A Japanese saying
A flower is cherished for its pure fragrance.
A man glories in humanity and justice.
Imprisonment brings no shame,
As long as one’s heart is clearly just.
Takechi Hanpeita, July 1864
(Written on his self-portrait with brush in ink, as he languished in his jail
cell)