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Keiichirō Ryū
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The Blade of the Courtesans Hardcover – October 28, 2008

by Keiichiro Ryu (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 15 ratings
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This Naoki Prize-nominated historical thriller marked the auspicious debut of late-blooming author Keichiro Ryu, who in five years made a name for himself as a master of period novels. In The Blade of the Courtesans, a young samurai by the name of Seichiro Matsunaga, trained in swordfighting by non other than the legendary samurai Musashi Miyamoto, finds himself in Yoshiwara (the pleasure quarters of old Tokyo), per Miyamoto's dying wishes. In Yoshiwara, Seichiro finds himself defending its denizens against what may be spies from the Yagyu Clan, including one young woman named Oshabu, whose story runs deeper than still water suggests.

The Blade of the Courtesans is at once a quiet ode to human liberties in the face of political warfare and edge-fo-your-seat swordfighitng, a Japanese counterpart to the romantic adventures of the medieval knights whose chivalry is rivaled only by their prowess at battle.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Vertical
  4. Publication date
    October 28, 2008
  5. Dimensions
    5.95 x 1.1 x 8.8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9781934287019
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1934287019
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"deeply immersive and engrossing..." --Serdar Yegulap, Genji Press

About the Author

Keiichiro Ryu made his name as an author of historical fiction in a career that lasted only fivers, until his untimely death, Though coming late into the publishing scene, he was no novice to the subject of his life's work, which centered around the Edo Period of Japan (roughly 1600-1868). The Blade of the Couresans was his debut work, set in Yoshiwqara (the pleasure quarters) of old Tokyo.

Ryu graduated from Tokyo University with a degree in Buddhist literature and went on to become an assistant professor at Chuo University. During the Second World War he fought in China as an army cadet. Upon returning he filled an editiorial position at Tokyo Sogen Publishing.

Under the alias Ichiro Ikeda, Ryu wrote several screenplays, and when he made his fiction debut with The Blade of the Courtesans, he was nominated for a Naoki Prize, the Japanese equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1934287016
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vertical; First Edition (October 28, 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781934287019
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1934287019
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.95 x 1.1 x 8.8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 15 ratings

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Keiichirō Ryū

Keiichirō Ryū

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
15 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Patto
5.0 out of 5 stars Romantic samurai thriller
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2010
Verified Purchase
It would help to know Japanese history for full enjoyment of this book, but I managed to love every minute of it, even with my scanty knowledge of the period.

Keiichiro Ryu takes the reader behind recorded history to a secret history of Tokugawa Ieyasu's shogonate and that of his successors. He provides us with a noble young hero, Masunaga Seiichiro, whose purity of heart contrasts with the brutality of rival political factions.

Seiichiro is the hidden son of a retired emperor whose family is slaughtered by his enemies. Only the infant Seiichiro is rescued from the carnage, and by no less a person than the legendary swordsman Musashi Miyamoto. For his own protection, Seiichiro is told nothing of his lineage.

With a foster parent like Musashi, Seiichiro naturally grows up to be an amazing swordsman himself. He continues to train on his own in the mountains after Musashi's death, and at age 26, goes to Edo, following Musashi's instructions, to meet the head of the new Yoshiwara pleasure quarter.

The plot reveals itself in layer upon layer of intrigue and romance, with lots of fantastic sword fights thrown in.

The great charm of the novel, for me, lies in its explanations of various erotic, esoteric and martial traditions; for example, the elaborate courting ritual of a high-ranking courtesan by a patron, the secret practices of hearing sounds from a distance and moving over mountains at great speed, the techniques used by the Yagyu ninja for assassinations, and the power of an itinerant shaman to induce dreams of other centuries.

The reader can look forward to scenes of heartrending brutality, scenes that elevate sensuality to an art form, heroines who read minds and die for love - and a hero who can parry poison arrows and cut down twenty attackers without losing for a second his "imperturbable mind."
13 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars don't mess with the Samuri code
Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2014
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great story on feudal Japan
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Geoff
5.0 out of 5 stars This book was excellent!
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2015
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This book was excellent! I really like the story. A disciple of Miyamoto Musashi goes to the Yoshiwara district in Edo and ends up a part of the group the owns and runs the Yoshiwara. Sort becoming the protector of the Yoshiwara disctrict learing all about the place and the origins of its people along the way. All the while the Yagyu clan are after both him and an 50 year old document concerning the commission of the Yoshiwara district itself. There are so many plot twists along the way and granted their are some pretty unbelievable variations of the actual history concerning people like Iyeasu and Mitsuhide, but these variations actually make the book more fun and are told in believable ways. If you like historical Japanese fiction this book is for you.
2 people found this helpful
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Lisa Brandt
5.0 out of 5 stars An entirely different experience
Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2010
Verified Purchase
I bought this book because I have enjoyed many books about the era of the Shoguns in Japan that were written by non-Japanese writers, and I thought reading one written by a Japanese author would be very nice. I was surprised at how different this book is from the others. It is much more didactic, containing detailed explanations of things such as the life path of geisha. At the same time, it is very exciting, with an excellent story line. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in this period. It is in the best tradition of the serious historical mystery that uses the fiction as an envelope for conveying authentic historical information.
8 people found this helpful
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Ponnana
4.0 out of 5 stars A Magic Carpet to the Edo period
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2013
`The Blade of Courtesans' is a historical novel set in the Edo period. This was when Japan, under the Shogun, enjoyed a century of stability and prosperity, and a renewed interest in arts and culture.

As one would expect of a novel set in this period, `The Blade of Courtesans' features the full assortment of characters associated with the period viz shogun, ninjas, samurai and geishas. The story itself is a satisfying mix of sex, action, and intrigue but it is in the intricate details of the period where the author scores. For example, his explanation of the rituals of how a man approaches a geisha, and his description of the teasing eroticism behind the protocols, is spellbinding. More than the plot, it is this intricate detail woven into the story that magically transports the reader into another era and keeps him hypnotized until the last page. His prose is languid and unhurried, and he often wanders off to inform the reader of the practices prevalent at the time and recreates the period in fascinating detail.

The translation gets bumpy at times but this because of the many digressions required to explain the Japanese terms of the period. Far from being a turn-off, it actually left me yearning for the original.
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