Spring is a season of rebirth and delight, but not for Kubikiri Asa, the Shogun's executioner. And for those condemned to lose their heads to Asa's sword, this spring will be their final season. Samurai Executioner, the Edo-era samurai crime drama by Lone Wolf and Cub creators Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, continues down its path of heinous crime and diligent, bloody justice.
Collects materal previously published in the Dark Horse graphic novels Samurai Executioner. Volume 3: The hell stick; Samurai Executioner. Volume 4: Portrait of death; Samurai Executioner. Volume 5: Ten fingers, one life.
No other guide on the market covers the volume of comic book listings and range of eras as Comic Book Checklist & Price Guide does, in an easy-to-use checklist format. Readers can access listings for 130,000 comics, issued since 1961, complete with names, cover date, creator information and near-mint pricing. With super-hero art on the cover and collecting details from the experts as America's longest-running magazine about comics in this book, there is nothing that compares.
Spring is a season of rebirth, or new life springing forth, a time of cherished blooming and delightful scents. But for Kubikira Asa, there is no spring delight. The Edo-era samurai crime drama by Lone Wolf and Cub creators Koike and Kojima continues down its path of heinous crime and diligent, bloody justice. Spring may come to the innocent, but to those condemned to lose their heads to Asa’s sword, it will be their last.
Did you know that comic books are being promoted by noted organizations including American Library Association and many educators as a tool for engaging young readers?
"A wonderful introduction the Japanese tradition of jisei, this volume is crammed with exquisite, spontaneous verse and pithy, often hilarious, descriptions of the eccentric and committed monastics who wrote the poems." --Tricycle: The Buddhist Review Although the consciousness of death is, in most cultures, very much a part of life, this is perhaps nowhere more true than in Japan, where the approach of death has given rise to a centuries-old tradition of writing jisei, or the "death poem." Such a poem is often written in the very last moments of the poet's life. Hundreds of Japanese death poems, many with a commentary describing the circumstances of the poet's death, have been translated into English here, the vast majority of them for the first time. Yoel Hoffmann explores the attitudes and customs surrounding death in historical and present-day Japan and gives examples of how these have been reflected in the nation's literature in general. The development of writing jisei is then examined--from the longing poems of the early nobility and the more "masculine" verses of the samurai to the satirical death poems of later centuries. Zen Buddhist ideas about death are also described as a preface to the collection of Chinese death poems by Zen monks that are also included. Finally, the last section contains three hundred twenty haiku, some of which have never been assembled before, in English translation and romanized in Japanese.
The Shogun's executioner has received many strange last requests from those about to lose their head, some stranger than others. A woman condemned for murder wants her locks severed by the killing blade to be given to a lost love. An old man asks that his own decapitation follow that of his prized chrysanthemum, and that his executioner grow another from its cuttings. And elsewhere, the woman who once stole the weapons of samurai policemen is asked to serve as a cop herself to use her own unique skills to help solve a puzzling murder.
Striking similarities between Lone Wolf and Cub and Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima's sidebar story line, Samurai Executioner (known as Kubikiri Asa in Japan), are evident in the cool attitude, rebellious honor, and unflappable bushido of the lead characters of both series, but readers will delight in the whole new crime-fiction genre of Edo-era samurai spirit in Samurai Executioner. Here, we enter a world of harsh and violent crime and the forces that stand against it. In this volume, after initial stories of criminals' lives leading to their executions, we meet two Edo-era police officers and explore their specialized methods of capturing crafty criminals. Then, in Koike's signature fashion, the volume ends with a psycho killer's grueling and violent end. It's a history lesson, an art education, and a pulp sensation, all wrapped up in one fantastic series. • FOR MATURE READERS
The dramatic arc of Saigo Takamori's life, from his humble origins as a lowly samurai, to national leadership, to his death as a rebel leader, has captivated generations of Japanese readers and now Americans as well - his life is the inspiration for a major Hollywood film, The Last Samurai, starring Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe. In this vibrant new biography, Mark Ravina, professor of history and Director of East Asian Studies at Emory University, explores the facts behind Hollywood storytelling and Japanese legends, and explains the passion and poignancy of Saigo's life. Known both for his scholarly research and his appearances on The History Channel, Ravina recreates the world in which Saigo lived and died, the last days of the samurai. The Last Samurai traces Saigo's life from his early days as a tax clerk in far southwestern Japan, through his rise to national prominence as a fierce imperial loyalist. Saigo was twice exiled for his political activities -- sent to Japan's remote southwestern islands where he fully expected to die. But exile only increased his reputation for loyalty, and in 1864 he was brought back to the capital to help his lord fight for the restoration of the emperor. In 1868, Saigo commanded his lord's forces in the battles which toppled the shogunate and he became and leader in the emperor Meiji's new government. But Saigo found only anguish in national leadership. He understood the need for a modern conscript army but longed for the days of the traditional warrior. Saigo hoped to die in service to the emperor. In 1873, he sought appointment as envoy to Korea, where he planned to demand that the Korean king show deference to the Japanese emperor, drawing his sword, if necessary, top defend imperial honor. Denied this chance to show his courage and loyalty, he retreated to his homeland and spent his last years as a schoolteacher, training samurai boys in frugality, honesty, and courage. In 1876, when the government stripped samurai of their swords, Saigo's followers rose in rebellion and Saigo became their reluctant leader. His insurrection became the bloodiest war Japan had seen in centuries, killing over 12,000 men on both sides and nearly bankrupting the new imperial government. The imperial government denounced Saigo as a rebel and a traitor, but their propaganda could not overcome his fame and in 1889, twelve years after his death, the government relented, pardoned Saigo of all crimes, and posthumously restored him to imperial court rank. In THE LAST SAMURAI, Saigo is as compelling a character as Robert E. Lee was to Americans-a great and noble warrior who followed the dictates of honor and loyalty, even though it meant civil war in a country to which he'd devoted his life. Saigo's life is a fascinating look into Japanese feudal society and a history of a country as it struggled between its long traditions and the dictates of a modern future.
