the tale of the 47 ronin of ako

The true story of the 47 ronin (masterless samurai) of the province of Harima is probably the best-known story of the valor and ideals (the Code of Bushido) of Japan's famous samurai warriors. Our tale begins in 1701, a time of relative peace during the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Shogun Tsunayoshi lived and ruled from Edo, while the Emperor, who had little political power, lived in Kyoto. To show respect to the Emperor, Tsunayoshi sent gifts and envoys to Kyoto for the New Year's celebrations, and in return, the Emperor sent his own envoys to Edo in March. To receive the Imperial envoys, Tsunayoshi appointed two young daimyos (feudal provincial lords), Naganori Asano-Takuminokami, The Lord of the Castle of Ako in Harima Province, and Munehare Date, Lord of Sendai to act as hosts during the forthcoming visit of a member of the Imperial Court in Kyoto. Because the daimyos were inexperienced in entertaining high born guests, the Shogun appointed an elderly high official named Yoshinaka Kira-Kozukenosuke to assist them.
Kira, whom history describes as greedy and conceited, became very angry with Lord Asano for not presenting him with expensive gifts (to show appreciation, respect, etc.) and instead of helping Lord Asano became very abusive and insulting towards him. Kira, determined to get even, used every opportunity to publicly humiliate Asano. After two months of abuse, Asano's tolerance was gone.

On March 14, unable to take the insults from Kira anymore, Lord Asano drew his sword (itself a capital offense when done inside Edo Castle) and struck Kira wounding him slightly. For his offense, The Shogun Tsunayoshi ordered Lord Asano to immediately commit seppuku (ritual suicide). Kira, on the other hand, received no punishment; in fact, he became an object of sympathy and was allowed to continue his official duties.

The Shogun's failure to have Kira share in the responsibility angered the followers of Asano,who felt that Kira's improper actions were ignored and Asano's punishment too harsh.

By law, when a samurai lord committed seppuku, his castle was confiscated by the Shogun, his family was disinherited, and his 321 samurai retainers were ordered to disband, thus becoming ronin or masterless warriors. Asano's samurai were unsure of how to act in the wake of this disaster. Some thought they should refuse to turn over the castle to the Shogun, some thought they should plot revenge and kill Kira, and others thought they should respect the law and surrender peacefully.

Oishi Kuranosuke, Asano's Chief Councilor, listened to the varying opinions and finally decided on a plan. He would petition the Shogun to reestablish the House of Asano with Lord Asano's younger brother, Daigaku, as it's head. If that failed the samurai of Lord Asano would refuse to turn over the castle and defend it to the death.

In the next few days, as the Shogun's agents were on the road enroute to the Ako, all of the Asano samurai which were opposed to the petition deserted the castle, leaving only 60 loyal samurai behind. Before the shogun's men could reach the castle, Daigaku Asano sent a letter to Oishi, asking him to obey the orders of the Shogun and hand the castle over.

Oishi and the 59 other samurai accepted Daigaku's request as binding on them as the word of Lord Asano himself, but before they quit the castle they made plans to avenge their Lord Asano's disgrace by killing Kira, whose un-samurai like character had brought their lord and house to such a tragic end. Only this would restore Asano's rightful honor.

The men split up to conceal their plans from Kira, who naturally suspected that Asano's retainers would try to get revenge against him. Oishi went to Yamashina, a suburb of Kyoto, where he earned a reputation as a drunken gambler, a ruse that successfully deceived the Shogun's police and Kira's many spies.

The Shogun, still concerned that the affair might not be ended, ordered the arrest of Daigaku Asano and sentenced him to confinement in the main villa of the Asano family, thus ending any remaining hope that the House of Asano might be reestablished.

For nearly two years they waited, disguised as merchants, street vendors and even drunks to get information on Kira and to be close to him should an opportunity arise to storm Kira's mansion. Finally, Kira and his allies finally relaxed their suspicions of Oishi and his men.

At a secret meeting, Oishi and the other 59 ronin decided that the time had come to move against Kira. But Oishi would allow only 46 of the men to participate with him in the attempt. He sent the other 13 back home to their families.

One by one Oishi and his men infiltrated Edo, and on a snowy winter night of December 14, 1702 the 47 ronin attacked the mansion of Kira while he was having a tea party. The 47 ronin divided into two bands and stormed the mansion from the front and rear gates. In the great battle that followed, the 47 ronin entered into battle against Kira's 61 armed guards. At the end of the 1 1/2 hour battle, Asano's ronin had either subdued or killed all of Kira's men without any losses of their own.

After a thorough search, Kira was found hiding in an outhouse. The ronin brought Kira to the courtyard and offered him the same chance their Lord Asano was given to honorably commit seppuku. Kira could not commit seppuku, so the ronin beheaded him. Then, to symbolize the completion of their mission, the 47 returned to Asano's grave at Sengaku-ji Temple and set Kira's head before it, thus declaring their Lord's honor redeemed.

Prepared to die for their deed, Oishi sent two delegates to the Magistrate of Edo, informing him of what had been done and telling the official that they would be waiting at the Sengaku-ji Temple, awaiting orders from the Shogun.

The Shogun Tsunayoshi, instead of being angry, was deeply impressed with the loyalty demonstrated by the 47 ronin. This made Tsunayoshi decision all the more difficult. Although clearly sympathetic to their heroic act, he was nonetheless faced with a dilemma. Should he spare the 47 ronin in recognition of their great display of bushido and their defense of their Lord Asano's honor, or should they be punished according to the law. If he overlooked their crime for sentimental reasons would that belittle their honor and weaken the samurai code? After 47 days of deliberation, Tsunayoshi ordered that Oishi and 45 of his men were to execute themselves not as criminals but as honored warriors. The youngest of the ronin, who had been sent to Ako with the news of Kira's death was spared from the sentence.

On February 4, 1703, the 46 ronin were divided into four groups and handed over to four different daimyo, who were ordered to supervise and witness their deaths. Oishi and the other 45 ronin all committed seppuku simultaneously, dignifying themselves in their valiant sacrifice. Upon their deaths, the 46 ronin were buried side by side next to their master at Sengaku-ji Temple.

Today, the memory of the 47 ronin is celebrated in a kabuki play called Chuusingura which moves the audience to tears and excitement as it develops the theme of the magnificent sacrifice of the 47 ronin. Additionally, each year thousands of Japanese visit the gravesite of the 46 ronin at Sengaku-ji Temple to pay homage to the honor and loyalty of the 47 ronin and their dedication to the code of bushido.

Chushingura

The story of the 47 Ronin is familiar to every student of Japanese history, but most accounts, slide over the events of the seven weeks following the attack on Kira's mansion. This may help explain why the Ronin were punished for practicing what the system preached and even depended on.

The attack was the most exciting news to hit the country in a long time and brought immediate acclaim and admiration. More than 60 years had passed since the last rumble of war, and the incident seemed like a great battle. Oishi and the Ronin took on the aspects of a victorious general and his army. Hosokawa, the Daimyo, under who Oishi and 16 others were held, awaiting disposition of their case, gave instructions that his retainers should watch every word and deed of the 17 as model samurai.

The Shogun, Tsunayoshi, wanted to reward the men, in spite of the summary way that he had treated their lord two years before. He also wished it to appear that he was bowing to the will of the people in doing so. He ordered the counsel (Hyojoso) to take their time and study the case carefully. These counselors (Bugyo) were the men in the highest executive positions of the central government. These bugyo presented individual written statements, signed and sealed, to the 15 Elders. All statements agreed that the Ronin should be held up as examples and rewarded, not punished. Some of the statements even criticized Kira's son for not having committed seppuku after the deed, and for not coming to his father's aid at the time. Pro-ronin views were held, and given, unofficially by many leading scholars and philosophers including Nobuatsu Hayashi, the highest professor of Confucian learning and by Muro Kyoso who had the courage to publish a book championing their cause, in spite of the possibility of political recrimination, should the case be decided wrong.

The Ronin were undoubtedly legally wrong, and yet, their actions were in accord with the official moral pronouncements of the government. Asano's case had been dealt with, from deed to death, in under 12 hours. Now the whole nation was on tender hooks as the council argued the same points for weeks, without reaching any decision. As time passed, the case was considered more and more on its legal. points, and less on the sentimental aspects. A leader of this strong view was Ogyu Sorai, a famous Confucian scholar retained by Daimyo Yanagisawa, Chief Minister of the Shogun's Cabinet. He said that, although their loyalty and bravery were commendable, there had still been a serious crime committed. They had, under the very nose of the Shogun, fought a small civil war, not a personal fight or casual brawl. It was systematically planned, complete with battle plans, high command, intelligence operations, supply lines and bases of operation. They were a band of trained soldiers, formed into a secret army, who waged a brief campaign, complete with a regular array of weapons and tools from a supply depot in Edo. They used war drums, whistles, code language, ladders, battering mallets and uniforms, as well as armor, swords, spears and bows.

Such an act could not be condoned regardless of the nobility of motive. Furthermore, if the Ronin were released and honored as heroes, would not the relatives of Kira feel honor bound to hunt down and kill every one of the 47? This is especially true of Uesugi, his third son, adopted out to become Daimyo of Yonezawa, whose clan had provided the guards that made such a poor showing at Kira's mansion. All the relatives of the late Asano, including Daimyo Asano of Hiroshima would feel obliged to protect the Ronin. A feud between two such powerful lords could conceivably start a civil war that could shake or even bring down the Tokugawa Shogunate.

The Shogun then took a nearly unprecedented step, and personally sought the views of the Lord Abbot of Kwanei Temple at Ueno. The Abbot was an Imperial Prince and the Emperor's personal delegate. He also was a hostage in case of an Imperial plot against the Shogunate, but that did not lower his position. It was a rare procedure, in which the Shogun almost certainly hoped his own highest ministers would be over- ridden. The Abbot, however, said that it would be more merciful to let them die martyrs to their loyal cause. Now that they had attained their hearts desire, they would be anxious to join their Lord in the other world. If they were allowed to live, some of them might serve two masters and, being human, become spoiled by the adulation and commit unseemly acts and compromise the spotless character they would otherwise leave unsullied to posterity.

On the 4th of February 1703, representatives of the Shogun carried the word to the Ronin that would be kindly permitted to die by their own hand to repent the crime of having disturbed the peace and order of the capitol.

The daimyos Hosokawa, Matsudaira, Mari, and Midzuno stalled until dusk hoping that it had been a "save face" order, soon to be followed by a pardon, which never came.

As soon as the results became known, there was a wave of indignation. Satirical verse and angry epithets, vilifying the government and officials who did nothing to save the Ronin were scribbled on walls and fences. The instruction board at Nihonbashi was torn up again and again until the first article, on loyalty and filial piety, was watered down to "Parents and children should love one another".

Within two weeks the first Kabuki play about the incident was on the stage, and it has been a dramatic standard ever since, especially in the famous play "Chushingura" which has given its name to the event on which it was based.

chuusingura kabuki play

The 48th Ronin

A devout Japanese came to pay homage at the Chushingura grave site (I seem to recall that it was in the dead of winter, with snow on the ground - but I may be mistaken). He knelt in front of the row of 47 grave stones and through his mind raced the story of the heroic deeds of these Ronin. He was profoundly shaken by their utter self-abnegation, bravery, and utter loyalty to their Lord and that they had scarificed their own lives, by their own hand, to cleanse the dishonor that had been unjustly heaped upon him. (All these actions were the quintessential distillation of the unwritten code of honor that ruled the land). This gentleman was so moved by their deeds that he himself committed seppuku on the spot. This, indeed, was as brave a deed as that of the 47 Ronin, and he had now joined them in spirit as completely as was humanly possible. The population was so deeply moved by this act and the reasons for it, that they decided to bury this man in a grave adjoining those in whose name he had taken his life.

some movies based on the story