I have to jam today on a deadline for my video essay on Lone Wolf & Cub and the recreation of Edo era Japan — so can’t take too much time for a considered post. Instead, going to share the introduction to the essay here:
“Even if you’ve never read Lone Wolf and Cub, you’ve seen stories that are heavily influenced by it. Samurai Jack. Frank Miller. Road to Perdition. Or how about Wu Tang Clan? If Liquid Swords doesn’t ring a bell, Quentin Tarantino probably will…
It’s hard to qualify Lone Wolf & Cub’s influence in Western culture, let alone the revolution it started in Japanese manga and cinema. No dive, no matter how deep, could cover everything in the series’ 9000 pages across 28 volumes from “The Assassin’s Road” to “The Lotus Throne.”
So let’s look at just one essential aspect: setting. Edo era Japan, the time of the Tokugawa shogunate. The country a mosaic of feudal Han domains with ruthless Daimyo lords, the Shogun’s secret forces of shinobi ninjas and Kogi Kaishakunin executioner reign in terror.
So, spoiler alert from here on out… It’s in this complex, unforgiving landscape that Ogami Itto, former executioner for the shogun, turns himself and his young son into assassins for hire in order to seek vengeance on the Yagyu clan, who murdered his wife and framed him in a conspiracy. They become known as the supremely badass Lone Wolf & Cub as they travel across every Han in Japan, carrying out missions and taking the Yagyu down.
Looking at the myriad ways that Koike & Kojima recreate the entire country and era will give us insight into why Lone Wolf & Cub is not only an awesome story, but one that transcends culture and time.
Let’s start with the story itself. In Vol. 1, we learn how the elder Retsudo forces Itto’s fall from grace – entirely through symbols.”
