In New York, an African-American hit man follows Hagakure: The Way of the Samurai. He lives alone, in simplicity, with pigeons, calling himself Ghost Dog. His master, who saved his life eight years’ ago, is part of the local mob. When the boss’s daughter witnesses one of Ghost Dog’s hits, he is expendable. The first victims are his birds, and in response, Ghost Dog goes right at his attackers but does not want to harm his master or the young woman. On occasion, he talks with his best friend, a French-speaking Haitian who sells ice cream in the park, and with a child, with whom he discusses books. Can he stay true to his code? And if he does, what is his fate?
1: In the face of an enemy, in the Heart of One Man, Lies the Soul of a Warrior. 2: In the face on an enemy, in the Heart of One Man, Lies the Soul of a Warrior.
Plot Summary:
In the 1870s, Captain Nathan Algren, a cynical veteran of the American Civil war who will work for anyone, is hired by Americans who want lucrative contracts with the Emperor of Japan to train the peasant conscripts for the first standing imperial army in modern warfare using firearms. The imperial Omura cabinet’s first priority is to repress a rebellion of traditionalist Samurai -hereditary warriors- who remain devoted to the sacred dynasty but reject the Westernizing policy and even refuse firearms. Yet when his ill-prepared superior force sets out too soon, their panic allows the sword-wielding samurai to crush them. Badly wounded Algren’s courageous stand makes the samurai leader Katsumoto spare his life; once nursed to health he learns to know and respect the old Japanese way, and participates as advisor in Katsumoto’s failed attempt to save the Bushido tradition, but Omura gets repressive laws enacted- he must now choose to honor his loyalty to one of the embittered sides when the conflict returns to the battlefield…
