A lecture by Prof. William Fleming

Presented by The Japan Foundation, Toronto in co-operation with The Asian Institute at The Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto

Free admission; please register at the link

In the spring of 1701, a daimyo from western Japan drew his sword against a senior shogunal official within the hallowed halls of Edo Castle. This rash, split-second decision set in motion a dramatic chain of events that is retold in a theatrical masterpiece that remains one of Japan’s most captivating and enduring cultural markers: Chushingura, the story of the forty-seven ronin.

Chushingura enjoyed immediate success on stage and quickly captured the Japanese popular imagination, inspiring all manner of imitators, adaptations, and parodies. This talk introduces several works of comic pictorial fiction based on the Chushingura story and considers their significance as products of the flourishing literary culture of early modern Japan.