A narrator establishes the historical and cultural stakes of feudal Japan, explaining the rigid social hierarchy and the code of bushido. The speech defines the profound disgrace of becoming a ronin and sets the stage for a tale of loyalty and lost honor.
NARRATOR: Feudal Japan. The Age of Shoguns and Samurai. A time when the ideals of Loyalty and Honor are prized above all else by the people of the Land of the Rising Sun. In Edo, the Emperor has been reduced to a ceremonial puppet. All power rests with the Shogun -- military warlord Tokugawa Tsunayoshi -- and is enforced by his provincial barons -- the Daimyo. The peace of the realm is kept by the swords of their loyal retainers, the samurai -- warriors of incomparable skill and honor, who live their lives by the strict code of ethics known as bushido -- the “Way of the Warrior”. To these loyal knights, their duty to their lord comes above all else...even their own lives.
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