15 h 27 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when loyalty to a lord matters more than love, family, or life itself?
Algernon Freeman-Mitford’s Tales of Old Japan gathers samurai stories, tales of lovers and outlaws, and encounters with ghosts and spirits. The collection opens with the Forty-seven Ronins. When their lord Asano strikes out in anger at court, his retainers face grave consequences. Oishi Kuranosuke must lead these masterless men, conceal their purpose, and wait for the right moment to act.
Beyond the warriors’ world, Gompachi and Komurasaki find love at odds with strict social rules. Sakura Sogoro stands up for oppressed farmers, while tales of returning ghosts give wrongs a life beyond death. Mitford draws on Japanese sources and adds notes on customs, bringing an outsider’s respect to stories where duty, desire, and fear press hard against ordinary lives.
What you’ll discover
- Loyalty under strain Follow Oishi Kuranosuke as he carries the burden of leadership and a hidden purpose.
- Love against the rules Meet Gompachi and Komurasaki, whose love pulls against the hard boundaries of their world.
- Ghosts among the living Enter tales where wronged spirits return and the dead remain close to everyday life.
- A voice for farmers Discover Sakura Sogoro, the village headman remembered by common people as their champion.
- Customs behind the stories Explore the bonds between lords and retainers through Mitford’s tales and notes on customs.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like tales of honour, revenge and the supernatural, and anyone curious about Japan before it opened to the West. If you want modern, balanced history or fast plotting, its Victorian voice and strict codes may feel distant.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A diplomat records a vanishing world
- Forty-seven loyal men plan their revenge
- Duty to a lord outweighs every other tie
- Love and crime in the world of the town
- Ghosts, spirits and the cry of the poor
- How Mitford tells it and what he adds
Who’s who
- AsanoA young provincial lord who is shamed at the shogun's court and strikes out in anger, with grave consequences for all who serve him.
- KiraA proud, grasping court official who is charged with teaching Asano the manners of the shogun's palace.
- Oishi KuranosukeAsano's chief retainer, who must lead the masterless men and keep their purpose hidden while he waits for the right moment.
- GompachiA young man of the samurai class who strays from the path of duty and is drawn into love and trouble in Edo.
- KomurasakiA woman of the Yoshiwara quarter whose love for Gompachi sets her against the hard rules of her world.
- Sakura SogoroA village headman who stands up for oppressed farmers and is remembered by the common people as their champion.
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- 15-minute summary
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Cuentos del viejo Japón
by Algernon Freeman-Mitford· 1871
Japanese tales tell of duty, revenge, love, and spirits.
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Language: Español
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A diplomat records a vanishing world
Mitford arrived in Japan in the 1860s as a junior member of the British legation. This was a tense time. Foreigners were new and often unwelcome, and the power of the shogun, who had ruled in the name of the emperor for more than two centuries, was weakening. Within a few years the shogunate fell and the country began its rapid change.
Mitford saw that the customs around him were about to be swept away. Samurai still wore two swords, lords still kept armies of retainers, and the strict ranks of society still shaped every life. He felt that English readers knew almost nothing of this, and what they thought they knew was often wrong. So he gathered stories that Japanese people themselves told and wrote down.
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The author
Algernon Freeman-Mitford
1837–1916 · British diplomat and writer
Algernon Freeman-Mitford (1837–1916) was a British diplomat and writer. He was born in London and worked in Japan from 1866 to 1870. His Tales of Old Japan was published in 1871. He later lived in England and became Baron Redesdale in 1902. He died in 1916.
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What is Tales of Old Japan about?
It is a collection of stories from Japan's samurai age, retold in English by a British diplomat. It covers loyal retainers, revenge, love, outlaws and ghosts, with notes on customs and beliefs of the time.
Is Tales of Old Japan a true story?
The tales are drawn from Japanese sources. The story of the forty-seven ronins is based on a real event in the early 1700s, while others mix history, popular memory and legend. Mitford published the book in 1871.
Who were the forty-seven ronins?
They were samurai who lost their lord, Asano, after he was ordered to die for drawing his sword in the shogun's palace. Without a master, they became ronin and pledged to act for his honour.
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