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Ōoka EchizenAuthor: Yoshikawa Eiji
| Original Title | 大岡越前 |
|---|---|
| Author | 吉川 英治 |
| Genre | Historical Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In the sweltering summer of 1701 Edo, three outcasts creep through darkness near a shogunate dog kennel, their laughter sharp with defiance. Society groans under tyrannical edicts that elevate animals above humans—dogs feast on rice while orphans starve, and swatting a mosquito risks execution. Disillusioned masterless samurai Anoujuu and pockmarked rogue Ookame, joined by timid Misokyu, enact a reckless scheme: scattering poisoned dumplings to disrupt the regime’s grotesque canine utopia. Their act of rebellion—born from personal ruin and simmering rage—unfolds under a blood-red sky, echoing the despair of a world where humanity withers. Meanwhile, young Osode waits in shadows, her love for a sheltered aristocrat tangled in secrets that could unravel both their lives. As dawn breaks, the kennel’s howls twist into death throes, leaving the men fleeing through forests, their fate as precarious as the era itself—a time when loyalty crumbles, laws strangle compassion, and survival demands becoming beasts worse than those they envy. |
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