Nansō Satomi Hakkenden

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Nansō Satomi Hakkenden (南總里見八犬傳 or using simplified kanji, 南総里見八犬伝) is a Japanese 106 volume epic novel by Kyokutei Bakin. Written over a period of nearly thirty years and published from 1814 to 1842, Bakin had gone blind before finishing the tale, and the final parts were dictated to his daughter-in-law Michi to be transcribed.

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Film, TV and theatrical adaptations 3 Other adaptations 4 Trivia 5 References 5.1 Notes 6 External links

[edit] Plot summary

Set in the tumultuous Sengoku period 350 years earlier, Hakkenden is the story of eight samurai brothers and their adventures, with themes of loyalty and family honor, as well as Confucianism, bushido and Buddhist philosophy. An earlier novel serial of Bakin's, Chinsetsu Yumiharizuki (椿説弓張月) had been illustrated by the famous ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai; however the two had not worked together well. For Hakkenden, Hokusai's son-in-law, Yanagawa Shigenobu was employed as illustrator instead.

There is a complete reprinting in 10 volumes available, and various modern Japanese translations, mainly abridged versions. However, only a few chapters are available translated into English, one by Donald Keene^[1] and several by Chris Drake. ^[2]

[edit] Film, TV and theatrical adaptations

Though hugely popular at the time, Bakin's work lost favour after the Meiji Restoration, but came back into fashion again in the 20th century. There are numerous film adaptions, the first in 1938, then a series in the 1950s, an influential tv series Shin Hakkenden (新八犬伝) during the early 1970s, the 1983 Satomi Hakkenden, and the most recent: a made-for-TV two-part mini-series in early 2006. Perhaps the best known screen version in the west is the 1990s AIC two sequence OVA The Hakkenden.

[edit] Other adaptations

There are manga versions of the story by Aomata Pink, Yoshimura Natsuki and Miyazoe Ikuo, and elements and themes from Hakkenden can be found in a wide range of other work.

[edit] Trivia

In the video game Ōkami, the player must seek out the eight canine warriors, who are portrayed as the embodiment of the eight virtues of Confucianism.

[edit] References

• The wonderful Hakkenden Hakuryu-Tei website and the complete Japanese version

[edit] Notes

• ↑  Kyokutei Bakin (1819) "Shino and Hamaji". In Keene, Donald (Ed.) ([1955] 1960) Anthology of Japanese Literature: from the earliest era to the mid-nineteenth century, pp. 423–428. New York, NY: Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-5058-6
• ↑ Kyokutei Bakin (1819) "Fusehime at Toyama Cave," "Fusehime's Decision," "Shino in Otsuka Village," "Hamaji and Shino". Translated by Chris Drake in Haruo Shirane (Ed.) (2002) Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology 1600-1900, pp. 885-909. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231109911

[edit] External links

• Original text of Nansō Satomi Hakkenden, first 30 chapters as of 2006 (Japanese)
• Screen adaptations of the Hakkenden story on allcinema.net (Japanese)