The 47 Ronin
The 47 Ronin or Chushingura
The samurai dedicated himself to the death in defense of his master and of his honor. He lived a life of frugality and discipline. it was rare that he had any material wealth except his sword. he carried two swords, a long (daito) and short (shoto). His long sword which was up to five feet in length was his main armament. His short sword was mainly a backup and also was used for decapitating his enemies for seppuku. He considered his sword to be of such great value, that upon retirement to a monastery or in penance for an unforgivable offense, he often presented the weapon to be enshrined with other sacred relics in a temple or shrine.
A samurai's loyalty to his lord was paralleled by the duty men owed to masters in other walks of life. The teacher, the landlord, the labor-boss, or political head, expected and usually received the loyalty of their subordinates
"I shall not live under the same heaven or tread the same earth with the enemy of my father or lord." This precept was indelibly engraved in the mind of every samurai. if his master or a relative were murdered a warrior felt that it was an obligated duty to avenge him, once he had made up his mind to act, nothing short of his own death could stop him from this duty.
In ancient Japan, even though the emperor reigned, his position was regarded as more of a deity, a divine being, a living god descended from God. The real power was vested in the Shogun, who was, by the virtue of his position, the most powerful man in the empire.
The Shogun or ruler divided the country into territories each governed by a lord. Each lord retained a private army of samurai to protect both him and his territory. The story of the forty-seven ronin (or chushingura) began in March, 1701, in the city of Edo (now Tokyo).
Every year in the spring the emperor sent emissaries from Kyoto to Tokyo conveying his greetings and best wishes to the Shogun. It was a long, tiresome journey and each year two lords were chosen to put up the Imperial party at locations along the way. This year Lord Date and Lord Asano were named for that responsibility and ordered to come to the Shogun's palace so that they could be instructed in the proper procedures for receiving the Emperor's envoys.
Lord Kira was the man in charge of ceremonies and etiquette at the Shogun's court. Even though he served and was paid by the Shogun, he lived more on graft and bribes that he received than on his annual salary. Kira looked forward to the arrival of Lord Date and Lord Asano because of the gifts he expected from them.
Date did as expected, presenting Kira with 1,000 pieces of silver and another hundred for his assistants. Lord Asano, though, who was young and headstrong, and hated the thought of bribing a man to perform his duty gave Kira only a few small gifts such as old friends might give each other. The most expensive of which was a package of dried fish.
As a result of this "insult" Kira refused to teach Asano anything about the ceremonies of court and, in general, made things miserable and difficult for Asano. During the next two days Kira never missed an opportunity to sneer at Asano or to ridicule him about his lack of court manners, always in front of others.
By the third day Lord Asano could stand no more. After Kira had made a particularly stinging insult, Asano drew his short sword and slashed at Kira's face. Before the guards could stop him he had cut Kira deeply on the forehead.
An event such as this normally would have been no more than an affair of honor between two lords, except that it happened to take place inside the walls of the shogunate, and by law it was a capital crime for a sword to be drawn within the confines of the Shogun's villa walls. As a result of this incident, Lord Asano was condemned by the Shogun to commit seppuku (suicide by disembowelment) by nightfall, confiscated his castle and lands and ordered his samurai to disband. At one stroke the Asano family was totally destroyed and Lord Asano's samurai, now masterless, became ronin (a name given to masterless samurai).
The leader of the Asano samurai (now ronin) was Kuranosuke Oishi. Oishi singled out, from the more than three-hundred that Lord Asano retained, fifty-five ronin that he knew he could trust and together they wrote an oath of vengeance against Lord Kira. Each man signed it with his own blood. They all swore to secrecy since, although every samurai understood the precept of honor and vengeance, the ruling civil authorities had banned its use under penalty of death.
Patiently waiting for the time to pass for Lord Kira to relax his guard against the vengeance he surely expected, the fifty-five ronin went about their daily affairs, but at the same time, secretly gathering information about Kira. One married the daughter of the architect who had designed Kira's mansion. He stole the plans for it and sent them to Oishi. Another posed as a rich merchant and began to take instruction in cha no yu (tea ceremony) from a master who also taught Lord Kira. Thought subtle questions he was able to learn when Kira was at home and whom he was entertaining.
Finally, in December 1702, Oishi felt that the time was ripe, that Kira's guard was down. He decided that they would attack on the fourteenth because Lord Asano had been forced to kill himself on the fourteenth of March. Oishi sent word for all of his men to meet him in Tokyo. The time for revenge had come.
Forty-seven of the ronin were still alive. From all over Japan they journeyed to Tokyo and met at an inn. Oishi showed them the architect's drawings of Kira's mansion and grounds and explained his battle-plan. He would lead half of them through the front gate while the other half were to attack through the rear gate. He designated ten men as archers. They were to climb up on the roof of the house and shoot any of Kira's samurai who tried to leave the fighting to summon help. The forty-seven ronin drank a toast together, then changed into brand new clothing and armor.
When they left the inn at midnight it was snowing. They walked unnoticed through the empty streets of Tokyo. As they approached Kira's mansion, Oishi stopped at the neighbors houses and explained to them who the ronin were and what they were about to do. he wanted to assure them that no harm would come to them. Kira was disliked by his neighbors and all of them promised not to interfere.
Oshi's ronin quickly scaled Kira's wall with ladders they had brought. The gatekeeper was huddled in the gatehouse trying to keep warm. They quickly overpowered him before he had a chance to sound the alarm. They then smashed the wooden bolt that locked the gates and swung them open. Oishi's half of the ronin quickly entered as the second group crashed through the rear gate. The fighting began.
Kira's samurai, staggering sleepily from their beds, were no match for the inspired ronin. The battle was brief and bloody, and the archers made certain that none got away.
When Oishi and his men forced their way into Kira's bedroom they found that it was empty. Oishi put his hand on the bedding and found they were still warm. Kira could not be far away. They searched the house, but couldn't find him. They searched it again. Still nothing. Oishi's ronin were disappointed. Had Kira escaped them? Had they waited all of these months and then risked their lives for nothing?
Suddenly one of the ronin gave a shout. He had found a man hiding inside a large box full of firewood by the wall. The man refused to answer their questions, but when he was dragged into the light of a torch they saw that he had a long scar on his forehead. A scar put there, almost two years ago, by their dead master, Lord Asano's sword. It was Kira.
Oishi carried the sword Lord Asano had used to kill himself. He placed it in front of Kira. They would show him the courtesy of allowing him to do the same. Kira drew back shaking. He was too much of a coward. Oishi picked up the sword and with one powerful stroke sliced of Kira's head.
Oishi wrapped the head in Kira's kimono and he and his men walked out through the front gate. They headed toward Sengaku Temple where Lord Asano was buried. They made a strange procession, some wounded and bloody from the battle, bearing the head of their enemy through the streets.
When they reached Sengaku Temple, Oishi washed Kira's head in the well and then placed it as an offering at the foot of their master's grave.
The forty-seven ronin had broken the law. They were arrested the next day and despite the fact that the general public praised their loyalty and courage, in the trial which followed only two arguments were considered:
- That they should be pardoned.
- That only a sentence of honorable suicide would satisfy both the law and the unspoken personal wishes of the ronin. Since having avenged their lord they should now want to join him in the world beyond.
The second argument seemed more appropriate to the Shogun, and in accordance with the law of the land the forty-seven ronin were condemned to commit seppuku. This ritual they performed 'en masse', an act, which as a result of, made them then and forever heros whose memories are still kept as fresh and green in the people's minds to this day as their graves at Segaku Ji. They were all buried together beside Lord Asano, the master they served so well.