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The 47 Ronin in Debt

It is a weird concept to think about how the samurai and ancient Japanese warlords financed their wars. This is the subject of a new offbeat Japanese film called: The 47 Ronin in Debt

Filmmaker Yoshihiro Nakamura has just released this satirical look at the high cost of waging war and how quickly your savings can disappear. In the past, he has also done other films on similar topics such as the Magnificent Nine which was set in the wild west and was all about a small town trying to get out of poverty.

The new movie is based around the rather famous account of a group of samurai who are left masterless (thus they become ronin). The ronin then try to get along with the funds on hand and try run things without a master. They soon learn that war costs a lot and so does just feeding a castle full of people (like their wives, children, concubines, accountants and all the servants). Much of the story deals with finances and corruption (particularly bribery) among officials.

If you enjoy a bit of irony with your Samurai movies then this is certainly one for you.