The Last Surviving Samurai. Volume 1

Japan in the Meiji Restoration era. A mysterious notice appears in the newspaper: anyone skilled in martial arts who comes to the Tenryu-ji temple in Kyoto on a designated night will be promised an incredible reward—100,000 yen. The prize draws 292 samurai who have lost their former status. Among them is Soga Shūzjirō, desperately searching for a way to save his sick wife and daughter, not even suspecting what price this chance will demand.

At the temple, participants face a deadly competition under the rules of a “royal battle”: they must travel from Kyoto to Tokyo, seizing opponents’ tokens by any means. Surrendering or leaving the game means immediate death.

The book that served as the basis for Netflix’s new high-profile project—an eponymous series—combines the atmosphere of “Shōgun” with the tension of “The Royal Battle” and “Squid Game.”