Lone Wolf & Cub
Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2005 15:48 -0700
What precisely is the story behind Lone Wolf and Cub? Yes, I could look it up on the web, but thats a tad bit time consuming.
Revenge, pure and simple...
But it is also about Bushido: the code of the samurai, honor, love, Japanese history and culture, the end of an era. It has been described as a masterpiece of in the field of manga. It is worth every penny and every minute spent on it. After the last page of the last volume is finished, you will find yourself wanting still more.
Taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Lone Wolf and Cub (known in Japan as Kozure Ōkami 子連れ狼) is a well-known gekiga or manga created by the writer Kazuo Koike and the artist Goseki Kojima. Its story led to the creation of six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four plays, television series and much more.
When Lone Wolf and Cub was first released in Japan in 1970, it became wildly popular (some 8 million copies were sold in Japan) for its powerful, epic samurai story and its stark and gruesome depiction of the violence during Tokugawa era Japan. The story spanned 28 volumes of manga, with over 300 pages each (totalling over 8,700 pages in all).
Lone Wolf and Cub chronicles the story of Ōgami Ittō, the Shogun's executioner, who was disgraced by false accusations from the Yagyū clan and has been forced to take the path of the assassin. Along with his three-year-old son, Daigoro, they seek revenge on the Yagyū clan and are known as "Lone Wolf and Cub".
Story
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
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A formidable warrior, Ōgami Ittō had become the Shōgun's executioner, the Kogi Kaishakunin, a position of high power used by the Tokugawa Shogunate (along with the Oniwaban and the assassins) to enforce the will of the Shogun over the daimyo or domain lords. For those samurai and lords ordered to commit seppuku, the Kogi Kaishakunin would assist with their deaths by decapitating them to relieve the pain of cutting their own stomachs.
Shortly after Ōgami Ittō's wife's childbirth with Daigoro, Ōgami Ittō returned to find his wife, Asami, and their maidens brutally murdered, with only the newborn Daigoro surviving. They were ostensibly murdered by three men to avenge a lord who was executed by Ōgami Ittō. However, the entire matter was designed to disgrace Ōgami Ittō by setting him up as the murderer and placing an ihai (funeral tablet) with the Shogun's name on it in Ōgami's family shrine (in the story this symbolized Ōgam's wish for the Shogun's death). This would make Ōgami a criminal and thus forfeit his post. The set up was planned by Ura-Yagyū, Yagyū Retsudo, leader of the Yagyū clan, in order to seize Ōgami's post for the Yagyū clan.
Disgraced, Ōgami Ittō and his now infant son, Daigoro, become a powerful assassin team, vowing to eventually destroy the Yagyū clan to avenge his wife and his disgrace.
On the "Road to Meifumado", the cursed journey for vengeance, Itto Ogami and his son, Daigoro, encounter numerous and countless adventures, eventually befalling Retsudo Yagyu's children and leading up to Yagyu himself.
Before his final duel with Retsudo Yagyu, Ogami was attacked by the last of the elite ninja of the Yagyu clan, The Grass. His sword was tampered with earlier by a visit from a member of The Grass disguised as a sword polisher, causing Ogami's longtime Dotanuki sword to finally wear down and break during The Grass's final assault. He was inflicted with wounds that would ultimately be his demise against his battle with Retsudo. After eliminating each and every ninja, Ogami and his shattered Dotanuki were finally met with Retsudo and his spear. His will to end the Yagyu flowed through his soul, but his decrepit and exhausted body would eventually leave Ogami to his fate. In a standstill to drive Yagyu's own spear into him, Ogami's spirit left his body after a lifetime of fatigue and bloodshed. Ogami was unable to destroy his longime enemy and his Road to Meifumado had ended. The story finishes with Ogami's son, Daigoro, taking up the spear from his father's lifeless body and charging in fury. Yagyu opens his arms, disregarding all defense, and allows Daigoro to drive the spear into his body. Embracing Daigoro with tears Retsudo Yagyu names him, "Grandson of my heart", thus concluding the epic with a final and fitting ending.
Abayo
