 |
| In the midst of 18th century Japan's bewildering changes, eruptions of violence were not unknown. That they did not occur more often among the samurai was a tribute to the thoroughness of their training and their remarkable self-discipline, but even a samurai could be pushed too far. In 1701 in Edo, Lord Asano of Ako lashed out at a corrupt court official and set in motion a chain of events that terminated in one of the bloodiest vedettas in Japan's feudal history. When it was over, Japan had a new set of heroes the forty-seven ronin, or ex-samurai, of Ako. |
|
|
