Guided Reading Essay: Chobei of Bandzui

Read the story of Chobei of Bandzui then answer then complete the following essay assignment under the Quiz section. The 6th installment of Justin Hagen's Jitsuroku series, Chobei of Bandzui resumes our Pulp Fiction style revenge saga left off from Kazuma's Revenge.  The story of Chobei of Bandzui gives us a backstory seeded in jealousy and contempt as plots are made to bring him to ruin.  A side character from The Loves of Gompachi and Komurasaki, Chobei is the star of this tale and will make yet another appearance in a future story which will be our most bloody tale yet. Vendettas, honor, loyalty, murder and betrayal, key components of a classic and yet little known Japanese literary genre known as jitsuroku.  The word “jitsuroku” translates as “memoir” and was a genre of literature in feudal Japan that were generally exaggerated stories of political scandals and revenge.  These stories were largely based on true events, however through oral transmission and embellishment, these stories would soon intertwine fact and fiction together to the point that trying to decipher between the two would become quite difficult.  The result is that epic tales of revenge would soon become transmitted and popularized throughout Feudal Japan. The story of Chobei of Bandzui is one that ends in tragedy and violence. This work is a republishing of a segment from A.B. Mitford's Tales of Old Japan which is now out of print and in the public domain.