Yamada Asaemon, The shogun's executioner receives many strange requests from the condemned--a woman who bequeaths her severed locks to her beloved, a gardener who ask for the "beheading" of a chrysanthemum. And while strangers to Asaemon, their final moments and the stories behind their appeals can sometimes reveal more of a person's character than a lifetime of association.<br><br>From Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, legendary creators of <i>Lone Wolf and Cub</i>, comes the final omnibus volume of <i>Samurai Executioner</i>, a dark, complex exploration of Edo-period feudal Japan and the depths of the human spirit.