Drunk as a Lord

Drunk as a Lord (酔って候, Yotte Soro) is a collection of four novellas by Ryotaro Shiba, published in 1965. The English version was published by both the Japan Foundation and Kodansha International in June 2001.^[1] Eileen Kato translated the stories, and it was the second of Shiba's works to be translated into English.^[2]

All of the stories involve daimyō reacting to developments during the Tokugawa shogunate.^[1]

"Drunk as a Lord," the collection's namesake, is about a drinking and partying lord, Yamauchi Yodo, who tries to forge an alliance between the imperial court and the Tokugawa shogunate, but his efforts are in vain; he attempted this because he wanted to remain loyal to the Tokugawa even though he had taken an oath of loyalty to the Emperor and disagreed with open-door actions from the shogunate.^[1]

Yodo, described as an alcoholic in the story's end section, on page 103,^[2] also has an interest in literature,^[1] poetry, and debate,^[2] and proficiency in military affairs.^[1] The story places emphasis on his intellectual pursuits. Additionally he commits acts of torture against inmates who had committed political crimes.^[2] Shizuka Saeki of Look Japan describes Yodo as "a hard-drinking libertine who lives life on the wild side".^[1] Margaret Stawowy of The Japan Times characterized Yodo as "a double-talking, pompous tyrant" stated that "I was calling him an alcoholic and a bad word that also begins with “a” by page 12, and things only got worse."^[2] Stawowy argued that the narrative, by placing so much emphasis on the erudite characterization, does not prepare the Western reader for his more disagreeable traits, even though "having wisdom and a fine intellect does not exclude the potential for base conduct".^[2]

The main character, Lord of Satsuma Shimazu Hisamitsu, inadvertently causes political change for Japan by executing a Briton who drove his horse in front of him, a personal offense.^[1] Hisamitsu had inherited his position after his brother, more skilled in politics than he, died of cholera. His advisors take control of him and orient him against the shogun;^[1] Stawowy stated that Hisamitsu is "a wannabe scholar" and a "prototypical clueless master manipulated by retainers who are superior to him in every way except rank."^[2]

Repairman Kazo is down on his luck but particularly skillful with his hands. His talent leads him to be selected to reverse engineer and build a steamship for his Daimyō, Lord Date Munenari.

Stawowy argued that the translation did not sufficiently introduce context nor clear cultural differences for western readers.^[2]

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