Powell, Brian. "The Samurai Ethic in Mayama Seika's Genroku Chushingura." Modern Asian Studies. 18.4 (1984): 725-745.

     This article explains the approach Japanese playwright Mayama Seika took in writing his version of the forty seven ronin. He ensured that the audience would learn in great detail about the events of 1703 and even went as far as to cite his sources during the play. He also explained how the actions of the forty seven ronin fit in with Japanese law at the time.

  To strenghten my argument, I compared Mizoguchi's version of the story to the play version written by Mayama Seika. In the analysis written by Brian Powell, the only deviation from the story that occured between the two was Seika's insertion of a few scenes that more than likely, did not take place. The goal of Seika's work, as was Mizoguchi's, was to portray the life and values of the samurai and ultimately, build up sympathy and pride for the way the samurai exacted their revenge.

Standish, Isolde. "Chushingura and the Japanese Studio System." Japan Forum. 17.1 (2005): 69-86

   This article locates the Chushingura narrative within the studio system as the story chosen for all-star studio celebration productions to mark special events (kinen eiga), and examines the narrative's relation to the studio star system. The main question addressed is: how have established narrative conventions of the drama been manipulated to remain fresh to each viewing generation?

    This article helps explain the popularity of the 47 ronin narrative in Japanese culture and refutes any claim that the film was made to boost the Japanese war effort. It's appeal at the time and still today, is the "tragic hero" aspect of the samurai and their dedication to the samurai code.

Richie, Donald and Joseph L. Anderson. "Traditional Theater and the Film in Japan." Film Quarterly. 12.1 (1958): 2-9.

This article discusses the influence Japanese theatre had on the country's film industry. However, it singles out The Last Forty Seven Ronin as one of the rare films to have the Kabuki theatre influence. Although they come from the same story, Mizoguchi's film version is much more realisitic than the original Kabuki plays.

The fact that this article describes the influence of Kabuki theater on Mizoguchi's film shows that there was no intent to change the story to conform to the nationalistic feelings of World War II Japan. Even when it differs in its portrayal of reality, the film is much more a historical epic than a war propaganda effort. The realistic movements of the actors break away from traditional Kabuki theater and give a much more modern feel to Mizoguchi's picture.