The Tokaido Road Author:lucia St. Clair Robinson In 18th-century feudal Japan, 47 former retainers of Lord Asano avenged his forced suicide by killing Lord Kira. Robson embellishes this story, giving Asano a daughter by a second wife. When the novel begins, the daughter Kinume, known as Cat, has become a courtesan in the pleasure district of Edo--later Tokyo--to support herself rather than bec... more »ome a nun as had her mother. Trained in the samurai arts, Cat has vowed revenge on Kira. She sets out to find her father's chief councilor, which means a 300-mile trip to Kyoto. Pursued by Kira's hirelings, she is joined on the Tokaido road by a peasant girl, Kasane, and by Hanshiro, a lordless samurai who had been assigned to find Cat. Replete with hand-to-hand battles, rooftop chases, and perilous escapes, their adventures are also rich in details of customs, attire, ritual, and terrain, punctuated with poetry. Written by a former librarian, this depiction of an era commands interest. Recommended for historical fiction collections, especially those building a Far East segment. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 11/15/90« less