Chushingura: The Treasury of Loyal Retainers (Softcover)

Keene, Donald

ISBN 10: 0231035314 / ISBN 13: 9780231035316

Published by Columbia University Press, 1990

About this Item

Light edge wear. Contains a few pages with marks in the margins. Otherwise, fine. Open Books is a nonprofit social venture that provides literacy experiences for thousands of readers each year through inspiring programs and creative capitalization of books.

Seller Inventory # mon0000853847

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Chushingura: The Treasury of Loyal Retainers (Softcover)
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Publication Date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0231035314
• ISBN 13: 9780231035316
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Acceptable

About this title

Synopsis

Chushingura (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers), also known as the story of the Forty-Six (or Forty-Seven) Ronin, is the most famous and perenially popular of all Japanese dramas. Written around 1748 as a puppet play, it is now better know in Kabuki performances. In the twentieth century, cinema and television versions have been equally successful. Donald Keene here presents a complete translation of the original text, with notes and an introduction that increase the reader's comprehension and enjoyment of the play. The introduction also elucidates the idea of loyalty. This traditional virtue, as exemplified in Chushingura, has never completely lost its hold on audiences, in spite of twentieth-century changes in Japanese society and moral ideas. Moreover, as Professor Keene points out, the excitement, color and violence expressed in the play may be considered the counterpoint to the austere restraint and understatement which are more commonly thought to be "traditionally" Japanese.

About the Author

Donald Keene is Shincho Professor of Japanese Literature and University Professor Emeritus at Columbia University. He is also President of the Donald Keene Foundation of Japanese Culture.