Fragrance of Death

by Kazuo Koike

As the trail of blood and honor gets deeper and longer, corruption and double crossings abound. Two considerably evil and ambitious forces, previously teamed to finally kill the vengeful samurai Ogami Itto, clash in the torrential rains that continue to pound Edo. Determined to be the first to reach Ogami Itto and his son Diagoro, the shogun's own poisoner waits in a temple where the samurai and his toddler boy left their cart, reflecting on the path...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1569715939
• ISBN13: 9781569715932
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: Dark Horse Manga
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.1" x 6.0"
• Age Range: 16 years and up

Customer Reviews

Abe-no-Kaii continues to try and poison Lone Wolf & Cub

My decision this fall to start reading the manga epic Lone Wolf & Cub, one episode a night before going to bed, appears to be a masterstroke of timing since the 28th and final volume of the series was due out this week. Volume 21, "Fragrance of Death" continues the novel-within-the-novel that began with the previous volume, "A Taste of Poison." The Shogun, tired of the pathetic attempts of Retsudo Yagyu and his retainers to kill Ogami Itto allows the head of the Yagyu clan to use the services of Abe-no-Kaii, the head of the Kuchiyaku, the "official mouths" of the Shougn who taste his food for poisons. Abe-no-Kaii is a master of poisons, but by this point in the story he has failed several times to kill his prime target, Daigoro, or the boy's father. But the attempts continue in his own quest to control the power of the Shogunate in the five stories collected in this volume:(103) "Poison Currents" is the story that will convince you once and for all that Ogami Itto really is a demon; or, at least, is beyond being a mere human. Abe-no-Kaii actually poisons himself to help set the trap that finally succeeds in rending Ogami Itto helpless. Or does it?(104) "Flood of Fire" finds the desperate master poisoner making an attempt on the life of Retsudo Yagyu and risking everything he had done on this desperate ploy.(105) "Fire, Water and Poison" tells of Abe-no-Kaii fleeing the wrath of the Yagyu clan, but still trying to come up with a plan to save his life by being the one to kill Ogami Itto. (106) "Fragrance of Death" finally answers the question as to what Ogami Itto did with all the gold he has been receiving for the many assassinations he has accomplished along the Assassin's Road. But at the same time, father and son require the cutting of some habutae, the unbleached white silk funeral clothes of Japanese tradition. Along with the recovery of his gold, this can only portend that we are coming to another significant moment in this epic quest for vengeance and restored honor.(107) "Kaii's Lullaby" tells of Abe-no-Kaii's final gambit to poision Lone Wolf and Cub, as well as the story of how he came to be the master taster for the Shogun. It is not surprising that Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima are able to invest even a wretched monster like Abe-no-Kaii with some small aspect of sympathy. Of course, this all just ups the ante for the payoff in what may well prove to be the last major skirmish before the final battle is joined. The ebb and flow of this story has been most impressive, especially since it is not until these recent volumes that Koike and Kojima have ketp such a tight narrative focus for so long. But clearly things have changed significantly now that Ogami Itto and Daigoro have entered Edo. The only problem is, I do not think I want this story to end.