SHOTARO IKENAMI

Shogun meets Sherlock Holmes Over 24 million copies have been sold of this beloved samurai adventure It has been half a year since Akiyama Daijiro became a samurai half a year since he left his father Kohei once the most skilled swordsman in the land to set up his own blade school by the cool of the river Ever since amid the swaying bamboo groves he waits patiently for his first disciple But his serenity is soon disrupted by the visit of a mysterious samurai with an unhonourable offer in exchange for a vast sum of gold he must attack and injure the daughter of the Shogun s most senior counsellor Troubled by the proposal Daijiro alongside his father and Mifuyu a female warrior without match soon set out into the underworld of Edo era Japan to uncover the conspiracy before quickly finding themselves embroiled in a series of increasingly perilous adventures Widely considered to be the greatest work by Shotaro Ikenami the master of Japanese historical fiction The Samurai Detectives is a twisting page turning portrayal of one of the most intriguing evocative periods in the history of Japan

Japón, siglo XVII. La batalla de Sekigahara pone fin al período de guerras. Comienza así el shogunato Tokugawa y con él una larga y próspera paz y el aislamiento de Japón del exterior. Sin embargo, la paz no es buena para todo el mundo. Muchos samurais se quedan sin señor, y, sin guerras en las que luchar, se organizan en bandas que atemorizan a comerciantes y campesinos. La poblacion, cansada de soportar las injusticias de estos hatamoto-yakko, se organiza para combatirlos. Surgen asi los machi-yakko.En ese contexto historico aparece la figura de Banzuiin Chobe (1622-1657). Para muchos, una especie de Robin Hood que lucho contra las injusticias y protegio a la poblacion de los abusos de los samurais. Para otros, simplemente uno de los primeros yakuza. Esta es su historia

Cada vez que sobrevivas a un duelo, aumentarán el rencor y el deseo de venganza de tus enemigos. Es tu destino como samurái. Kohei Akiyama, un carismático maestro de esgrima de cincuenta y nueve años