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.