A Samurai Never Fears Death by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler

Seikei was born the son of a Tea Merchant, but always dreamed of being a Samurai. Then, after a great crime, he helped a Samurai Judge named Lord Ooka and was adopted by him as his son. Now, Seikei is entitled to carry the two swords of a Samurai, the Wakizashi and the Katana, and he helps his adoptive father chase down murderers and bring them to justice.

Judge Ooka and Seikei, along with Ooka's chief retainer, Bunzo, have returned to Osaka, where Seikei used to live with his birth family. But while Seikei doesn't really want to encounter his old family again, the Judge's orders to find a good restaurant for Fugu send him back to his family's tea shop, as he no longer knows where to find such a thing.

There, he finds his sister, Asako, and his brother, Denzaburo. with Seikei gone, Denzaburo has taken over the business, and done well enough that he has expanded the store into their old living quarters. Their parents now live in a separate house in the suburbs, and are mostly retired while Denzaburo runs the shop, along with the help of Asako. But something seems different, and troubling to Seikei, even if he cannot exactly put his finger on what it is yet.

Denzaburo takes Seikei to the puppet theatre, which will one day be known as Bunraku. But while they are there, one of the narrators is killed with the string of a Samisen and Seikei decides to look into it, as a boy that Asako is in love with works in the theatre. But when that same boy is charged with the crime simply because he moved the Samisen, Seikei must put his own life and honor on the line to ensure that the true culprts are brought to justice, and at the same time bring down a smuggling ring that Judge Ooka was brought to Osaka to expose!

Usually, Seikei and Judge Ooka work together, but this book has him totally on his own, separated from his foster Father and in the bosom of his birth family, who seem to be up to their eyeballs in the smuggling ring. But it also brings back memories of the second Judge Ooka and Seikei story, where Seikei went undercover in the theatre. Here, it's a theatre of puppets, but the same sort of jealousies and emotions run high.

Seikei also has to deal with his own divided feelings. He wants to protect the boy that his sister is in love with, but he feels, and later knows, that his own brother is involved in the smuggling ring. Duty versus Honor is one of the dilemmas that Samurai face, and here, Seikei must face it all on his own. Which will win, or can he satisfy both?

Rife with lovely period detail and well-rounded characters that live in the memory long after the story is done, this story is well worth reading for teens who love Anime, Manga, Samurai or Japan in general. While some of the bloodier aspects of Japan have been toned down for the story, this is still a lively look at Japanese society and customs that resonated in the same way as the Judge Dee mysteries do for China.