Tales of Enshin, the Reluctant Samurai

Stories of Old Japan. Book 2

Roald Knutsen

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2025
• Topic: Social Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9781040781647
• Subtopic: Asian Literary Collections
• Index: Social Sciences

Torii Enshin was the son of a high-ranking warrior in the late-fifteenth century and a skilled swordsman. He was disturbed at the sad lives of the common people and became a priest. He intended to devote his life to healing the poor who suffered everywhere in war-torn Japan. But then found himself reluctantly having to use his samurai skills once again… These short stories, drawn from his own accounts, follow Enshin and his faithful companion, Kuroi-san (or Mr Black), a black ox, and later both joined by a former carpenter who served Enshin's father. Together, the three wander across Japan, their adventures presenting a fascinating picture of life at a number of levels in the centuries of unrest before the Tokugawa at the beginning of the sixteenth century subjected the country to their iron grip.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• 1. Kuroi-san, the Gentle Black Ox
• 2. An Unfortunate Incident
• 3. The Oikake-ishi
• 4. Retribution
• 5. The Evening Drum
• 6. The Sweet Smell of Success
• 7. The Cat
• 8. The Agent
• 9. Incident on the Itako Bridge
• 10. The Prayer Hall
• 11. The Red Hawks of the Oto River
• 12. The Jingasa
• 13. Possession
• 14. The Deity of the Mountains