{"product_id":"books-musui-s-story-by-katsu-kokichi","title":"Musui's Story","description":"\u003cb\u003eA series of picaresque adventures\u003c\/b\u003e set against the backdrop of a Japan still closed off from the rest of the world, \u003ci\u003eMusui's Story\u003c\/i\u003e recounts the escapades of samurai Katsu Kokichi. As it depicts Katsu stealing, brawling, indulging in the pleasure quarters, and getting the better of authorities, it also provides a refreshing perspective on Japanese society, customs, economy, and human relationships. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e From childhood, Katsu was given to mischief. He ran away from home, once at thirteen, making his way as a beggar on the great trunk road between Edo and Kyoto, and again at twenty, posing as the emissary of a feudal lord. He eventually married and had children but never obtained official preferment and was forced to supplement a meager stipend by dealing in swords, selling protection to shopkeepers, and generally using his muscle and wits. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Katsu's descriptions of loyalty and kindness, greed and deception, vanity and superstition offer an intimate view of daily life in nineteenth-century Japan unavailable in standard history books. \u003ci\u003eMusui's Story\u003c\/i\u003e will delight not only students of Japan's past but also general readers who will be entranced by Katsu's candor and boundless zest for life.","brand":"World of Books ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53507313565969,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780816510351.jpg?v=1778123786","url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/products\/books-musui-s-story-by-katsu-kokichi","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}