Manga Review: Lady Snowblood Vol. 1: The Deep-Seated Grudge Pt. 1 story by Kazuo Koike, art by Kazuo Kamimura
It is the Meiji Era, and Japan is rapidly modernizing. Some have even suggested abolishing the Japanese language in favor of one easier to communicate in! But some traditions are more deeply rooted than others, like revenge. If you can find her, and pay her exorbitant price, the assassin known as Lady Snowblood will see that your enemy winds up dead. But while the money’s good, Oyuki has a more personal motivation.
This gritty samurai revenge drama is by the author of Lone Wolf and Cub, but set in a period closer to the “present day” of the 1970s. The Japanese title would directly translate as “Princess White Snow” but the one used for North America is more distinctive. The narrative was popular enough to spawn two films and inspire parts of Kill Bill, as well as the anime series Princess of Snow and Blood which I have previously reviewed.
There are five stories in this volume, beginning with “Sumida River Loincloth Cutting Board.” Oyuki is hired to kill a gambling boss by his across the river rival. She does this by joining a dice game and deliberately get caught cheating, so that the boss will be lured out to rape her in punishment. Turns out that being naked and tied up is no obstacle to Oyuki’s combat skills.
“Stylish Woman and Umbrella Over Rain of Blood” Oyuki poses as a high-class prostitute to infiltrate a brothel and discover its secret attraction that’s pulling customers away from its rivals, as well as murder the owner. Her secret weapon this time is western-style bloomers, an exotic underwear that drives men wild.
“Love, Hate, String of Blood, and Confession” is Lady Snowblood’s origin story. Her mother managed to have sex with multiple men while serving life for murder in women’s prison. This was for the express purpose of having a child who would be able to carry out vengeance for the murder of the woman’s husband and son, and her own rape.
This turns out to be related to the real historical events known as the “blood tax riots” of 1873. In particular, one riot started by the belief that a man in a white outfit would be coming to draft villagers for literal blood drainage. Things were bad enough, then Oyuki’s mother learned that her family’s murderers had in fact deliberately started the riot as part of a money-making scam! She faked submission and was made a servant by one of the men involved, but was only able to murder him and none of his co-conspirators before getting caught.
The delivery is fatal, and Oyuki’s mother charges the midwife with making sure her daughter is trained up to take revenge.
“Dead Cherry Blossoms and the Dance of Short Sleeve with White Blade” deals with a semi-fake rickshaw company that is a front for chickenhawks, that is fellows who find young runaways or other women who are unfamiliar with Tokyo and alone, and then abduct them to brothels to be enslaved. The more legitimate rickshaw companies need this to stop for obvious reasons. Despite demonstrating her prowess with a blade early on in the story, it’s Oyuki’s artistic skills that are key here. A clever paint job tricks the government into doing her assassination for her!
“Rokumeikan Murder Panorama” has Oyuki hired by a traditionalist to take down Rokumeikan, a social hall designed to have foreigners mix with local government officials in a party setting. Unfortunately this led to a lot of extramarital shenanigans and scandals to hush up. The first part of the story has Lady Snowblood seek out one of her mother’s former cellmates in order to learn the way of the pickpocket. The second part is an elaborate charade to get as many men as possible implicated in a rape-murder incident. This story emphasizes that Oyuki is the protagonist of the series, not the hero. Her plan involves doing truly evil things to people who probably don’t deserve that.
The art is pleasing in the 1970s gekiga manner, and Lady Snowblood kills with style. There’s a lot of historical detail in the stories, and if you like revenge stories, there is plenty of that here.
Content note: Bloody violence and plenty of it, including the death of a child. Rape and attempted rape. Consensual sex. Female nudity (Lady Snowblood fights naked more than once.) Period sexism and derogatory terms for women. Slut-shaming. This is best reserved for older readers who can handle it.
This first volume is episodic, introducing the main plot arc, but not advancing it. The protagonist’s amorality may displease some readers. Recommended for samurai revenge drama fans.
And here’s a look at the movie:
