Tales of Samurai Honor: Buke Giri MonogatariIhara Saikaku
Translated by Caryl Callahan
Monographs (1981) pp. 1–156
Ihara Saikaku, 1642-1693, is best known to Western readers as the prolific author of short stories about Japanese merchants and city-dwellers in the Edo period.
But the versatile Saikaku also wrote about the samurai class, and in this complete translation of the twenty-six tales making up his Buke Giri Monogatari, 1688, he vividly recounts, often with a note of irony, incidents involving duels, vendettas, suicides, and loyalty to illustrate the warrior ethic of giri, ‘honor’ or ‘duty’.
In the introduction to her translation, Caryl Ann Callahan describes the society and times in which the master storyteller composed his tales, traces his development as a writer, and discusses the implications of the samurai’s concept of giri.
1981. 156 pages.
Paperback ¥1,500/$15.00/€15.00.