The Legend of the Satsuma Samurai
If you hang around the Internet, you undoubtedly hear a lot about Ninjas and how they waste their enemies with laserswords, run on the ceiling, and hate pirates (and vice versa). Someone usually brings up something about the hit series, Naruto. It's just fun banter. On the other hand, there probably aren't too many anime and manga fans who can relay a serious history of the Samurai, their feudal society, their social hierarchy . Povertystricken and tied down by low status, the former warriors are forced to do menial tasks and construct objects for peasants in order to provide for their families. 800's, Satsuma Gishiden's story, disturbingly, reflects many of the same wartime struggles and questions that still arise today. Hiemontori, one felon argues, is not an activity a truly honourable Samurai would engage in, and would be unheard of in less troubled times. "Nonsense," the hunters counter. Hiemontori is an honourable sport that has been practised for generations. Satsuma Gishiden is translated very faithfully from its source material. A glossary is provided, although it doesn't cover every term the reader might wonder about. For a reader in the right frame of mind, it's a rich story well worth the commitment.
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