View source for Forty-seven rōnin

{{Short description|Samurai battle on 31 January 1703}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Forty-seven ''rōnin''}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Akō Rōshi|other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox event
| title                    = Akō jiken
| image                    = Reward for 47 Ronin by Yasuda Raishu (Homma Museum of Art).jpg
| image_size               = <!-- |image_upright= is preferred for most cases, see WP:IMGSIZE -->
| image_upright            = 
| image_alt                = 
| caption                  = ''Revenge of the Loyal Samurai of Akō'' by Yasuda Raishū ([[:ja:安田雷洲|ja]]) ([[Homma Museum of Art]]), with iconography borrowed from the [[Adoration of the Shepherds]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.homma-museum.or.jp/collection/ |script-title=ja:安田雷洲筆 赤穂義士報讐図 |trans-title=Reward for the Loyal Samurai of Akō by Yasuda Raishū |publisher=[[Homma Museum of Art]] |access-date=18 August 2019|date=25 February 2016 }}</ref>
| native_name              = 赤穂事件
| native_name_lang         = ja
| english_name             = Akō incident
| time                     = 
| duration                 = 
| date                     = {{Start date|1703|1|31|df=yes}}
| venue                    = Kira Residence
| location                 = 
| coordinates              = {{Coord|35|41|36.0|N|139|47|39.5|E|region:JP-13_scale:1000_source:jawiki_type:event|display=title,inline}}
| also_known_as            = 
| type                     = [[revenge|Revenge attack]]
| theme                    = 
| cause                    = Death of [[Asano Naganori]]
| motive                   = 
| target                   = To have [[Kira Yoshinaka]] commit [[ritual suicide]] ([[seppuku]]) to avenge their master Asano Naganori's death
| first_reporter           = Terasaka Kichiemon
| budget                   = 
| patron                   = <!-- or |patrons= -->
| organisers               = Forty-seven ''rōnin'' (四十七士, {{nihongo|Akō-rōshi|赤穂浪士}}) led by [[Ōishi Yoshio]]
| filmed_by                = 
| participants             = 47
| outcome                  = 
| casualties1              = Forty-seven ''rōnin'': 0
| casualties2              = [[Kira Yoshinaka]] and retainers: 41
| casualties3              = 
| reported deaths          = 19
| reported injuries        = 22
| reported missing         = 
| reported property damage = 
| burial                   = 
| inquiries                = 
| inquest                  = 
| coroner                  = 
| arrests                  = 
| suspects                 = 
| accused                  = Forty-seven ''rōnin''
| convicted                = 
| charges                  = 
| trial                    = 
| verdict                  = 
| convictions              = 
| sentence                 = 46 ''rōnin'' sentenced to [[ritual suicide]] ([[seppuku]]) on 4 February 1703, with 1 pardoned
| publication_bans         = 
| litigation               = 
| awards                   = 
| url                      = 
| blank_label              = <!-- or |blank_data= -->
| blank1_label             = <!-- or |blank1_data= -->
| blank2_label             = <!-- or |blank2_data= -->
| website                  = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
| notes                    = 
}}

The revenge of the {{nihongo|'''forty-seven ''rōnin'''''|四十七士|Shijūshichishi}},<ref>{{cite book |title=研究社新和英大辞典 |trans-title=[[Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary]] |language=ja |publisher=[[Kenkyūsha]] }}</ref> also known as the {{nihongo|'''Akō incident'''|赤穂事件|Akō jiken}} or '''Akō vendetta''', was a historical event in [[Japan]] in which a band of ''[[rōnin]]'' (lordless [[samurai]]) avenged the death of their former master on 31 January 1703.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Deal |first=William E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i0ni1NmbYe0C |title=Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan |date=2007 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-533126-4 |pages=146 |language=en}}</ref> The incident has since become legendary.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.columbia.edu/~hds2/chushinguranew/kanadehon/Index.htm | title = Kanadehon | publisher = Columbia University}}</ref> It is among the three major  vengeance (''adauchi'' 仇討ち) incidents in Japan, along with the [[Revenge of the Soga Brothers]] and the [[Igagoe vendetta]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ono|title=Jinbutsudenkojiten Kodai・Chuseihen (人物伝小辞典 古代・中世編)|publisher=Tokyodo Shuppan|year=2004|isbn=4490106467|location=Japan|pages=186}}</ref>

The story tells of a group of samurai after their ''[[daimyō]]'' (feudal lord) [[Asano Naganori]] was compelled to perform ''[[seppuku]]'' (ritual suicide) for assaulting a powerful court official (''[[kōke]]'') named [[Kira Yoshinaka]], after the court official insulted him. After waiting and planning for 2 years, the ''rōnin'' avenged their master's honour by killing Kira. Anticipating the authorities' intolerance of the vendetta's completion, they were prepared to face execution as a consequence. However, due to considerable public support in their favor, the authorities compromised by ordering the rōnin to commit ''seppuku'' as an honourable death for the crime of [[murder]]. Each of the 47 ''rōnin'' killed himself. This true story was popular in Japanese culture as emblematic of loyalty, sacrifice, persistence, and honour (qualities samurai follow called ''[[bushidō]]'') that people should display in their daily lives. The popularity of the tale grew during the [[Meiji period|Meiji]] era, during which Japan underwent rapid modernisation, and the legend became entrenched within discourses of national heritage and identity.

Fictionalised accounts of the tale of the forty-seven rōnin are known as ''[[Chūshingura]]''. The story was popularised in numerous plays, including in the genres of ''[[bunraku]]'' and ''[[kabuki]]''. Because of the censorship laws of the [[Tokugawa shogunate|shogunate]] in the ''[[Genroku]]'' [[Japanese era name|era]], which forbade the portrayal of current events, the names were changed. While the version given by the playwrights may have come to be accepted as historical fact by some,{{who|date=March 2014}} the first ''Chūshingura'' was written some 50 years after the event, and numerous historical records about the actual events that predate the ''Chūshingura'' survive.

The ''bakufu''{{'s}} censorship laws had relaxed somewhat 75 years after the events in question during the late 18th century when Japanologist [[Isaac Titsingh]] first recorded the story of the forty-seven ''rōnin'' as one of the significant events of the ''Genroku'' era.{{Sfn|Titsingh|2006|p=91}} To this day, the story remains popular in Japan, and each year on 14 December,<ref name=":0" /> [[Sengaku-ji|Sengakuji Temple]], where Asano Naganori and the ''rōnin'' are buried, holds a festival commemorating the event.

==Name==
The event is known in Japan as the {{nihongo|''Akō incident''|赤穂事件|Akō jiken}}, sometimes also referred to as the ''Akō vendetta''. The participants in the revenge are called the {{nihongo|Akō-gishi|赤穂義士}}, {{nihongo|Akō-rōshi|赤穂浪士}} or {{nihongo|Shi-jū-shichi-shi|四十七士}} in Japanese, and are usually referred to as the "forty-seven [[rōnin]]". Literary accounts of the events are known as the {{nihongo|''[[Chūshingura]]''|忠臣蔵|The Treasury of Loyal Retainers}}.

==Story==
For many years, the version of events retold by [[Bertram Freeman-Mitford, 1st Baron Redesdale|A. B. Mitford]] in ''[[Tales of Old Japan]]'' (1871) was generally considered authoritative. The sequence of events and the characters in this narrative were presented to a wide popular readership in the [[Western world|West]]. Mitford invited his readers to construe his story of the forty-seven rōnin as historically accurate; and while his version of the tale has long been considered a standard work, some of its details are now questioned.<ref name=smith1>[http://www.columbia.edu/~hds2/chushinguranew/retelling/Mitford.htm#Analysis Analysis of Mitford's story] by [http://www.columbia.edu/~hds2/ Dr. Henry Smith], [http://www.columbia.edu/~hds2/chushinguranew/index.htm Chushinguranew website], Columbia University</ref> Nevertheless, even with plausible defects, Mitford's work remains a conventional starting point for further study.<ref name=smith1/>

Whether as a mere literary device or as a claim for ethnographic veracity, Mitford explains:
{{blockquote |In the midst of a nest of venerable trees in [[Takanawa]], a suburb of Yedo, is hidden Sengakuji, or the Spring-hill Temple, renowned throughout the length and breadth of the land for its cemetery, which contains the graves of the forty-seven rônin, famous in Japanese history, heroes of Japanese drama, ''the tale of whose deed I am about to transcribe''. | Mitford, A. B.<ref>(1871). ''Tales of Old Japan,'' pp. 5–6.</ref> [emphasis added]}}

Mitford appended what he explained were translations of Sengaku-ji documents the author had examined personally. These were proffered as "proofs" authenticating the factual basis of his story.<ref>Mitford, pp. 28–34.</ref> These documents were:
# ...the receipt given by the retainers of Kira Kōtsukē no Sukē's son in return for the head of their lord's father, which the priests restored to the family.<ref name="Mitford, p. 30">Mitford, p. 30.</ref>
# ...a document explanatory of their conduct, a copy of which was found on the person of each of the forty-seven men, dated in the 15th year of Genroku, 12th month.<ref>Mitford, p. 31.</ref>
# ...a paper which the Forty-seven Rōnin laid upon the tomb of their master, together with the head of Kira Kôtsuké no Suké.<ref>Mitford, p. 32.</ref>

===Background===
[[File:Kanadehon-Chushingura-Stage-3-Utagawa-Kuniteru.png|thumb|upright=1.5|[[Ukiyo-e]] print depicting Asano Naganori's assault on Kira Yoshinaka in the ''[[Matsu no Ōrōka]]'' of [[Edo Castle]]]]
[[File:Imperial Palace Tokyo Site of the Matsunoohroka Corridor 2.jpg|thumb|Memorial stone marking the site of the ''Matsu no Ōrōka'' (Great Corridor of Pines) in [[Edo Castle]], where Asano attacked Kira]]
In 1701, two ''daimyō'', Asano Takumi-no-Kami Naganori, the young ''daimyō'' of the [[Akō Domain]] (a small [[fiefdom]] in western [[Honshū]]), and Lord Kamei Korechika of the [[Tsuwano Domain]], were ordered to arrange a fitting reception for the envoys of [[Emperor Higashiyama]] at [[Edo Castle]], during their ''[[sankin-kōtai]]'' service to the ''[[shōgun]]''.<ref>Mitford, A. B. (1871). ''Tales of Old Japan'', p. 7.</ref>

Asano and Kamei were to be given instruction in the necessary court etiquette by Kira Kozuke-no-Suke Yoshinaka, a powerful official in the hierarchy of [[Tokugawa Tsunayoshi]]'s shogunate. He allegedly became upset at them, either because of the insufficient presents they offered him (in the time-honoured compensation for such an instructor), or because they would not offer bribes as he wanted. Other sources say that he was naturally rude and arrogant or that he was corrupt, which offended Asano, a devoutly [[moral]] [[Confucianism|Confucian]]. By some accounts, it also appears that Asano may have been unfamiliar with the intricacies of the shogunate court and failed to show the proper amount of deference to Kira. Whether Kira treated them poorly, insulted them, or failed to prepare them for fulfilling specific ''bakufu'' duties,<ref>Mitford, p. 7.</ref> offence was taken.{{sfn|Titsingh|2006|p=91}}

Initially, Asano bore all this stoically, while Kamei became enraged and prepared to kill Kira to avenge the insults. However, Kamei's quick-thinking counselors averted disaster for their lord and clan (for all would have been punished if Kamei had killed Kira) by quietly giving Kira a large bribe; Kira thereupon began to treat Kamei nicely, which calmed Kamei.<ref>Mitford, pp. 8–10.</ref>

However, Kira allegedly continued to treat Asano harshly because he was upset that the latter had not emulated his companion. Finally, Kira insulted Asano, calling him a country boor with no manners, and Asano could restrain himself no longer. At the ''[[Matsu no Ōrōka]]'', the main grand corridor that interconnects the ''Shiro-[[shoin]]'' (白書院) and the ''Ōhiroma'' of the ''Honmaru Goten'' (本丸御殿) residence, Asano lost his temper and attacked Kira with a dagger, wounding him in the face with his first strike; his second missed and hit a pillar. Guards then quickly separated them.<ref>Mitford, pp. 10–11.</ref>

Kira's wound was hardly serious, but the attack on a shogunate official within the boundaries of the ''shōgun''{{'}}s residence was considered a grave offence. Any kind of violence, even the drawing of a [[katana]], was completely forbidden in Edo Castle.<ref>Mitford, pp. 11–12.</ref> The ''daimyō'' of Akō had removed his dagger from its scabbard within Edo Castle, and for that offence, he was ordered to kill himself by ''seppuku''.{{sfn|Titsingh|2006|p=91}} Asano's goods and lands were to be confiscated after his death, his family was to be ruined, and his retainers were to be made ''rōnin'' (leaderless).

This news was carried to [[Ōishi Yoshio|Ōishi Kuranosuke Yoshio]], Asano's principal counsellor (''[[karō]]''), who took command and moved the Asano family away before complying with ''bakufu'' orders to surrender the castle to the agents of the government.

===Attack===
[[File:NDL-DC 1312927-Tsukioka Yoshitoshi-皇国二十四功 大石内蔵之助-crd.jpg|thumb|[[Ukiyo-e]] showing [[Ōishi Yoshio|Ōishi]] signaling an attack by beating a drum. By [[Tsukioka Yoshitoshi]].]]
[[File:HokusaiChushingura.jpg|thumb|The ''rōnin'' attack the principal gate of Kira's mansion]]
After two years, when Ōishi was convinced that Kira was thoroughly off his guard,<ref>Mitford, p. 16.</ref> and everything was ready, he fled from Kyoto, avoiding the spies who were watching him, and the entire band gathered at a secret meeting place in Edo to renew their oaths.

The Ako Incident occurred on 31 January 1703 when the ''rōnin'' of Asano Naganori stormed the residence of Kira Yoshinaka in Edo. (While the attack was carried out on 31 January, the event is commemorated annually on 14 December in Japan.)<ref name=":0" /> According to a carefully laid-out plan, they split up into two groups and attacked, armed with swords and bows. One group, led by Ōishi, was to attack the front gate; the other, led by his son, Ōishi Chikara, was to attack the house via the back gate. A drum would sound the simultaneous attack, and a whistle would signal that Kira was dead.<ref>Mitford, pp. 16–17.</ref>

Once Kira was dead, they planned to cut off his head and lay it as an offering on their master's tomb. They would then turn themselves in and wait for their expected sentence of death.<ref>Mitford, p. 17</ref> All this had been confirmed at a final dinner, at which Ōishi had asked them to be careful and spare women, children, and other helpless people.<ref>Mitford, pp. 17–18.</ref>

Ōishi had four men scale the fence and enter the porter's lodge, capturing and tying up the guard there.<ref>Mitford, pp. 18–19.</ref> He then sent messengers to all the neighboring houses, to explain that they were not robbers but retainers out to avenge the death of their master, and that no harm would come to anyone else: the neighbors were all safe. One of the ''rōnin'' climbed to the roof and loudly announced to the neighbors that the matter was an act of revenge ([[Revenge#History|katakiuchi]], 敵討ち). The neighbors, who all hated Kira, were relieved and did nothing to hinder the raiders.<ref>Mitford, p. 19.</ref>

After posting archers (some on the roof) to prevent those in the house (who had not yet awakened) from sending for help, Ōishi sounded the drum to start the attack. Ten of Kira's retainers held off the party attacking the house from the front, but Ōishi Chikara's party broke into the back of the house.<ref>Mitford, pp. 19–20.</ref>

Kira, in terror, took refuge in a closet in the veranda, along with his wife and female servants. The rest of his retainers, who slept in barracks outside, attempted to come into the house to his rescue. After overcoming the defenders at the front of the house, the two parties led by father and son joined up and fought the retainers who came in. The latter, perceiving that they were losing, tried to send for help, but their messengers were killed by the archers posted to prevent that eventuality.<ref>Mitford, p. 20.</ref>

Eventually, after a fierce struggle, the last of Kira's retainers were subdued; in the process, the ''rōnin'' killed 16 of Kira's men and wounded 22, including his grandson. Of Kira, however, there was no sign. They searched the house, but all they found were crying women and children. They began to despair, but Ōishi checked Kira's bed, and it was still warm, so he knew he could not be far away.<ref>Mitford, p. 22.</ref>

===Death of Kira===
A renewed search disclosed an entrance to a secret courtyard hidden behind a large scroll; the courtyard held a small building for storing charcoal and firewood, where two hidden armed retainers were overcome and killed. A search of the building disclosed a man hiding; he attacked the searcher with a dagger, but the man was easily disarmed.<ref>Mitford, p. 23.</ref> He refused to say who he was, but the searchers felt sure it was Kira, and sounded the whistle. The ''rōnin'' gathered, and Ōishi, with a lantern, saw that it was indeed Kira—as a final proof, his head bore the scar from Asano's attack.<ref>Mitford, pp. 23–24.</ref>

Ōishi went on his knees, and in consideration of Kira's high rank, respectfully addressed him, telling him they were retainers of Asano, come to avenge him as true samurai should, and inviting Kira to die as a true samurai should, by killing himself. Ōishi indicated he personally would act as a ''[[kaishakunin]]'' ("second", the one who beheads a person committing seppuku to spare them the indignity of a lingering death) and offered him the same dagger that Asano had used to kill himself.<ref>Mitford, p. 24.</ref> However, no matter how much they entreated him, Kira crouched, speechless and trembling. At last, seeing it was useless to continue asking, Ōishi ordered the other ''rōnin'' to pin him down and killed him by cutting off his head with the dagger. They then extinguished all the lamps and fires in the house (lest any cause the house to catch fire and start a general fire that would harm the neighbors) and left, taking Kira's head.<ref>Mitford, pp. 24–25.</ref>

One of the ''rōnin'', the ''[[ashigaru]]'' Terasaka Kichiemon, was ordered to travel to Akō and report that their revenge had been completed. (Though Kichiemon's role as a messenger is the most widely accepted version of the story, other accounts have him running away before or after the battle, or being ordered to leave before the ''rōnin'' turned themselves in.)<ref>{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=Henry D. II |year=2004 |title=The Trouble with Terasaka: The Forty-Seventh Ronin and the Chushingura Imagination |journal=Japan Review |pages=16:3–65 |url=http://202.231.40.34/jpub/pdf/jr/IJ1601.pdf |access-date=21 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102214721/http://202.231.40.34/jpub/pdf/jr/IJ1601.pdf |archive-date=2 November 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Aftermath===
[[File:HiroshigeChushingura.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|The ''rōnin'', on their way back to Sengaku-ji, are halted in the street, and invited in for rest and refreshment.]]
As day was breaking, they quickly carried Kira's head from his residence to their lord's grave in Sengaku-ji temple, marching about ten kilometers across the city, causing a great stir on the way. The story of the revenge spread quickly, and everyone on their path praised them and offered them refreshment.<ref>Mitford, pp. 25–26.</ref>

On arriving at the temple, the remaining 46 ''rōnin'' (all except Terasaka Kichiemon) washed and cleaned Kira's head in a well, and laid it, and the fateful dagger, before Asano's tomb. They then offered prayers at the temple and gave the abbot of the temple all of the money they had left, asking him to bury them decently and offer prayers and requiems for them. They then turned themselves in; the group was broken into four parts and put under guard of four different ''daimyō''.<ref>Mitford, pp. 26–27.</ref> During this time, two of Kira's friends came to collect his head for burial; the temple still has the original receipt for the head, which the friends and the priests who dealt with them had all signed.<ref name="Mitford, p. 30" />

The shogunate officials in Edo were in a quandary. The samurai had followed the precepts by avenging the death of their lord; but they had also defied the shogunate's authority by exacting revenge, which had been prohibited. In addition, the ''shōgun'' received a number of petitions from the admiring populace on behalf of the ''rōnin''. As expected, the ''rōnin'' were sentenced to death for the murder of Kira; but the ''shōgun'' finally resolved the quandary by ordering them to honourably commit ''seppuku'' instead of having them executed as criminals.<ref name="Mitford 28">Mitford, p. 28.</ref> Each of the assailants ended his life in a ritualistic fashion.{{sfn|Titsingh|2006|p=91}} Ōishi Chikara, the youngest, was only 15 years old on the day the raid took place, and only 16 the day he committed ''seppuku''.

Each of the 46 ''rōnin'' killed himself in {{nihongo|''Genroku'' 16, on the 4th day of the 2nd month|元禄十六年二月四日||20 March 1703}}.<ref name="Tsuchihashi conversion">{{Cite web|url=https://uni-tuebingen.de/geschichte-japans/nengo_calc.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930014735/http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/geschichte-japans/nengo_calc.htm|url-status=dead|title=Tsuchihashi conversion|archivedate=30 September 2007}}</ref> This has caused a considerable amount of confusion ever since, with some people referring to the "forty-six rōnin"; this refers to the group put to death by the ''shōgun'', while the actual attack party numbered forty-seven. The forty-seventh ''rōnin'', identified as Terasaka Kichiemon, eventually returned from his mission and was pardoned by the ''shōgun'' (some say on account of his youth). He lived until the age of 87, dying around 1747, and was then buried with his comrades. The assailants who died by ''seppuku'' were subsequently interred on the grounds of Sengaku-ji,{{sfn|Titsingh|2006|p=91}} in front of the tomb of their master.<ref name="Mitford 28" /> The clothes and arms they wore are still preserved in the temple to this day, along with the drum and whistle; their armor was all home-made, as they had not wanted to arouse suspicion by purchasing any.

[[File:Sengakuji 47 ronin graves.jpg|thumb|Graves of the forty-seven rōnin at [[Sengaku-ji]]]]

The tombs at Sengaku-ji became a place of great veneration, and people flocked there to pray. The graves at the temple have been visited by a great many people throughout the years since the Genroku era.{{sfn|Titsingh|2006|p=91}}

===Members===
[[File:47 Ronin Gishi Portraits by Utagawa Yoshitora.png|thumb|300px|47 Ronin portraits by Utagawa Yoshitora]]
Below are the names of the 47 ''rōnin'' in the following form: family name – pseudonym (''[[kemyō]]'') – real name (''[[Japanese name|imina]]''). Alternative readings are listed in italics.
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
# [[Oishi Yoshio|Ōishi Kuranosuke Yoshio]]/''Yoshitaka'' ({{lang|ja|大石 内蔵助 良雄}})
# Ōishi Chikara Yoshikane ({{lang|ja|大石 主税 良金}})
# Hara Sōemon Mototoki ({{lang|ja|原 惣右衛門 元辰}})
# Kataoka Gengoemon Takafusa ({{lang|ja|片岡 源五右衛門 高房}})
# Horibe Yahei Kanamaru/''Akizane'' ({{lang|ja|堀部 弥兵衛 金丸}})
# [[Horibe Yasubee|Horibe Yasubei Taketsune]] ({{lang|ja|堀部 安兵衛 武庸}})
# Yoshida Chūzaemon Kanesuke ({{lang|ja|吉田 忠左衛門 兼亮}})
# Yoshida Sawaemon Kanesada ({{lang|ja|吉田 沢右衛門 兼貞}})
# Chikamatsu Kanroku Yukishige ({{lang|ja|近松 勘六 行重}})
# Mase Kyūdayū Masaaki ({{lang|ja|間瀬 久太夫 正明}})
# Mase Magokurō Masatoki ({{lang|ja|間瀬 孫九郎 正辰}})
# Akabane Genzō Shigekata ({{lang|ja|赤埴 源蔵 重賢}})
# Ushioda Matanojō Takanori ({{lang|ja|潮田 又之丞 高教}})
# Tominomori Sukeemon Masayori ({{lang|ja|富森 助右衛門 正因}})
# Fuwa Kazuemon Masatane ({{lang|ja|不破 数右衛門 正種}})
# Okano Kin'emon Kanehide ({{lang|ja|岡野 金右衛門 包秀}})
# Onodera Jūnai Hidekazu ({{lang|ja|小野寺 十内 秀和}})
# Onodera Kōemon Hidetomi ({{lang|ja|小野寺 幸右衛門 秀富}})
# Kimura Okaemon Sadayuki ({{lang|ja|木村 岡右衛門 貞行}})
# Okuda Magodayū Shigemori ({{lang|ja|奥田 孫太夫 重盛}})
# Okuda Sadaemon Yukitaka ({{lang|ja|奥田 貞右衛門 行高}})
# Hayami Tōzaemon Mitsutaka ({{lang|ja|早水 藤左衛門 満尭}})
# Yada Gorōemon Suketake ({{lang|ja|矢田 五郎右衛門 助武}})
# Ōishi Sezaemon Nobukiyo ({{lang|ja|大石 瀬左衛門 信清}})
# Isogai Jūrōzaemon Masahisa ({{lang|ja|礒貝 十郎左衛門 正久}})
# Hazama Kihei Mitsunobu ({{lang|ja|間 喜兵衛 光延}})
# Hazama Jūjirō Mitsuoki ({{lang|ja|間 十次郎 光興}})
# Hazama Shinrokurō Mitsukaze ({{lang|ja|間 新六郎 光風}})
# Nakamura Kansuke Masatoki ({{lang|ja|中村 勘助 正辰}})
# Senba Saburobei Mitsutada ({{lang|ja|千馬 三郎兵衛 光忠}})
# Sugaya Hannojō Masatoshi ({{lang|ja|菅谷 半之丞 政利}})
# Muramatsu Kihei Hidenao ({{lang|ja|村松 喜兵衛 秀直}})
# Muramatsu Sandayū Takanao ({{lang|ja|村松 三太夫 高直}})
# Kurahashi Densuke Takeyuki ({{lang|ja|倉橋 伝助 武幸}})
# Okajima Yasoemon Tsuneshige ({{lang|ja|岡島 八十右衛門 常樹}})
# Ōtaka Gengo Tadao/''Tadatake'' ({{lang|ja|大高 源五 忠雄}})
# Yatō Emoshichi Norikane ({{lang|ja|矢頭 右衛門七 教兼}})
# Katsuta Shinzaemon Taketaka ({{lang|ja|勝田 新左衛門 武尭}})
# [[Takebayashi Takashige|Takebayashi Tadashichi Takashige]] ({{lang|ja|武林 唯七 隆重}})
# Maebara Isuke Munefusa ({{lang|ja|前原 伊助 宗房}})
# Kaiga Yazaemon Tomonobu ({{lang|ja|貝賀 弥左衛門 友信}})
# Sugino Jūheiji Tsugifusa ({{lang|ja|杉野 十平次 次房}})
# Kanzaki Yogorō Noriyasu ({{lang|ja|神崎 与五郎 則休}})
# Mimura Jirōzaemon Kanetsune ({{lang|ja|三村 次郎左衛門 包常}})
# Yakokawa Kanbei Munetoshi ({{lang|ja|横川 勘平 宗利}})
# Kayano Wasuke Tsunenari ({{lang|ja|茅野 和助 常成}})
# Terasaka Kichiemon Nobuyuki ({{lang|ja|寺坂 吉右衛門 信行}})

}}

==Criticism==
The ''rōnin'' spent more than 14 months waiting for the "right time" for their revenge. It was [[Yamamoto Tsunetomo]], author of the ''[[Hagakure]]'', who asked the well known question: "What if, nine months after Asano's death, Kira had died of an illness?" His answer was that the forty-seven ''rōnin'' would have lost their only chance at avenging their master. Even if they had claimed, then, that their dissipated behavior was just an act, that in just a little more time they would have been ready for revenge, who would have believed them? They would have been forever remembered as cowards and drunkards—bringing eternal shame to the name of the [[Asano clan]]. The right thing for the ''rōnin'' to do, writes Yamamoto, was to attack Kira and his men immediately after Asano's death. The ''rōnin'' would probably have suffered defeat, as Kira was ready for an attack at that time—but this was unimportant.<ref name="Yamamoto, T 1979">[[Yamamoto Tsunetomo|Yamamoto, T.]] (Kodansha, 1979). ''[[Hagakure]]'', p. 26.</ref>

Ōishi was too obsessed with success, according to Yamamoto. He conceived his convoluted plan to ensure that they would succeed at killing Kira, which is not a proper concern in a samurai: the important thing was not the death of Kira, but for the former samurai of Asano to show outstanding courage and determination in an all-out attack against the Kira house, thus winning everlasting honour for their dead master. Even if they had failed to kill Kira, even if they had all perished, it would not have mattered, as victory and defeat have no importance. By waiting a year, they improved their chances of success but risked dishonouring the name of their clan, the worst sin a samurai can commit.<ref name="Yamamoto, T 1979"/>

==In the arts==
{{Main|Chūshingura}}
[[File:Oishi Yoshio Gishi Seppuku No Zu Painting.png|thumb|Painting of [[Ōishi Yoshio]] committing seppuku]]
The tragedy of the forty-seven rōnin has been one of the most popular themes in Japanese art and has lately even begun to make its way into Western art.

Immediately following the event, there were mixed feelings among the intelligentsia about whether such vengeance had been appropriate. Many agreed that, given their master's last wishes, the ''rōnin'' had done the right thing, but were undecided about whether such a vengeful wish was proper. Over time, however, the story became a symbol of loyalty to one's master and later, of loyalty to the emperor. Once this happened, the story flourished as a subject of drama, storytelling, and visual art.

===Plays===
The incident immediately inspired a succession of ''[[kabuki]]'' and ''[[bunraku]]'' plays; the first, ''The Night Attack at Dawn by the Soga'', appeared only two weeks after the ronin died. It was shut down by the authorities, but many others soon followed, initially in [[Osaka]] and [[Kyoto]], farther away from the shogunal capital. Some even took the story as far as [[Manila]], to spread the story to the rest of Asia.

The most successful of the adaptations was a ''[[bunraku]]'' [[puppet]] play called ''[[Kanadehon Chūshingura]]'' (now simply called ''Chūshingura'', or "Treasury of Loyal Retainers"), written in 1748 by Takeda Izumo and two associates; it was later adapted into a ''kabuki'' play, which is still one of Japan's most popular.

In the play, to avoid the attention of the censors, the events are transferred into the distant past, to the 14th century reign of ''shōgun'' [[Ashikaga Takauji]]. Asano became En'ya Hangan Takasada, Kira became [[Kō no Moronao]] and Ōishi became Ōboshi Yuranosuke Yoshio; the names of the rest of the ''rōnin'' were disguised to varying degrees. The play contains a number of plot twists that do not reflect the real story: Moronao tries to seduce En'ya's wife, and one of the ''rōnin'' dies before the attack because of a conflict between family and warrior loyalty (another possible cause of the confusion between forty-six and forty-seven).

===Opera===
The story was turned into an opera, ''Chūshingura'', by [[Shigeaki Saegusa]] in 1997.{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}}

===Cinema and television===
The play has been made into a movie at least six times in Japan,<ref name="child2007">{{Cite web |last=Child |first=Ben |date=2008-12-09 |title=Keanu Reeves to play Japanese samurai in 47 Ronin |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/dec/09/keanu-reeves-47-ronin |access-date=2024-07-15 |website=The Guardian |language=en-GB}}</ref> the earliest starring [[Onoe Matsunosuke]]. The film's release date is questioned, but placed between 1910 and 1917. It has been aired on the [[Jidaigeki]] Senmon Channel (Japan) with accompanying ''[[benshi]]'' narration. In 1941, the Japanese military commissioned director [[Kenji Mizoguchi]], who would later direct ''[[Ugetsu]]'' after the war, to make ''[[The 47 Ronin (1941 film)|Genroku Chūshingura]]''. They wanted a ferocious morale booster based on the familiar ''rekishi geki'' ("historical drama") of ''The Loyal 47 Ronin''. Instead, Mizoguchi chose for his source ''Mayama Chūshingura'', a cerebral play dealing with the story. The film was a commercial failure, having been released in Japan one week before the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]]. The Japanese military and most audiences found the first part to be too serious, but the studio and Mizoguchi both regarded it as so important that Part Two was put into production, despite lukewarm reception to Part One. The film wasn't shown in America until the 1970s.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.chicagoreader.com/movies/archives/0297/02077.html | title = Movies | newspaper = Chicago Reader | access-date = 8 May 2007 | archive-date = 15 May 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080515203025/http://www.chicagoreader.com/movies/archives/0297/02077.html | url-status = dead }}</ref>

The 1958 version, ''[[The_Loyal_47_Ronin_(1958_film)|The Loyal 47 Ronin]]'', was directed by Kunio Watanabe.

The 1962 film version directed by [[Hiroshi Inagaki]], ''[[Chushingura: Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki|Chūshingura]]'', is most familiar to Western audiences.<ref name="child2007" /> In it, [[Toshirō Mifune]] appears in a supporting role as spearman Tawaraboshi Genba. Mifune was to revisit the story several times in his career. In 1971 he appeared in the 52-part television series ''[[Daichūshingura]]'' as Ōishi, while in 1978 he appeared as Lord Tsuchiya in the epic ''[[Swords of Vengeance]]'' (''Akō-jō danzetsu'').

Many Japanese television shows, including single programs, short series, single seasons, and even year-long series such as ''Daichūshingura'' and the more recent NHK [[Taiga drama]] ''Genroku Ryōran'', recount the events. Among both films and television programs, some are quite faithful to the ''Chūshingura'', while others incorporate unrelated material or alter details. In addition, ''[[gaiden]]'' dramatize events and characters not in the ''Chūshingura''. [[Kon Ichikawa]] directed [[47 Ronin (1994 film)|another version]] in 1994. In 2004, [[Kōsei Saitō|Mitsumasa Saitō]] directed a nine-episode mini-series starring [[Ken Matsudaira]], who had also starred in a 1999 49-episode TV series of the ''Chūshingura'' entitled ''Genroku Ryōran''. In [[Hirokazu Koreeda]]'s 2006 film ''[[Hana (film)|Hana yori mo nao]]'', the story was used as a backdrop, with one of the ronin being a neighbour of the protagonists.

In the 1998 film [[Ronin (film)|''Ronin'']], [[Robert De Niro]]'s character is told the story by a mysterious Frenchman who is creating an intricately detailed miniature diorama of its original setting. Though the film takes the name from the 'masterless' samurai of Japan, it has nothing to do with the actual events of the forty-seven ronin.

A comedic adaptation was presented in a 2002 episode of the Canadian television series ''[[History Bites]]'' titled "Samurai Goodfellas", mingling the story with elements from ''[[The Godfather (film series)|The Godfather]]'' film series.

Most recently, it was made into a 2013 American movie titled ''[[47 Ronin (2013 film)|47 Ronin]]'', starring [[Keanu Reeves]], and then again into a more stylized 2015 version titled ''[[Last Knights]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2015/04/01/freeman-owen-casualties-of-bloody-bad-last-knights/ |title=Freeman, Owen casualties of bloody bad 'Last Knights'|first=Sara|last=Stewart|date=1 April 2015}}</ref>

===Woodblock prints===
The forty-seven rōnin is one of the most popular themes in Japanese [[woodblock printing|woodblock prints]], or ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' and many well-known artists have made prints portraying either the original events, scenes from the play, or the actors. One book{{which|date=March 2022}} on subjects depicted in woodblock prints devotes no fewer than seven chapters to the history of the appearance of this theme in woodblocks. Among the artists who produced prints on this subject are [[Utamaro]], [[Utagawa Toyokuni III|Toyokuni]], [[Hokusai]], [[Kunisada]], [[Hiroshige]], and [[Tsukioka Yoshitoshi|Yoshitoshi]].<ref>Forbes, Andrew; Henley, David (2012). ''Forty-Seven Ronin: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi Edition''. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN: B00ADQGLB8</ref> However, probably the most widely known woodblocks in the genre are those of [[Utagawa Kuniyoshi|Kuniyoshi]], who produced at least eleven separate complete series on this subject, along with more than twenty [[triptych]]s.

===Literature===
* The earliest known account of the Akō incident in the West was published in 1822 in [[Isaac Titsingh]]'s posthumously-published book ''Illustrations of Japan''.{{sfn|Titsingh|2006|p=91}}
* The first book of the juvenile Samurai Mystery series by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler, ''The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn'' (2005), weaves the kabuki play ''The Forty-Seven Ronin'' into the plot. 
* The incident is the subject of [[Jorge Luis Borges]]' short story "The Uncivil Teacher of Court Etiquette Kôtsuké no Suké", included in the 1935 collection ''[[A Universal History of Infamy]]''.
* The legend of the forty-seven rōnin was adapted into two [[Graphic novel|graphic novels]] published by [[Dark Horse Comics]]. The first is ''47 Ronin'', a 2014 faithful retelling written by [[Mike Richardson (publisher)|Mike Richardson]] and illustrated by [[Stan Sakai]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Richardson |first=Mike |date=March 12, 2014 |title=''47 Ronin'' |publisher=Dark Horse Comics |url=https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/21-375/47-Ronin-HC}}</ref> The second Dark Horse Comics adaption is ''Seppuku'', the second part of [[Víctor Santos (author)|Víctor Santos]]' 2017 graphic novel ''Rashomon: A Commissioner Heigo Kobayashi Case'', which also adapts "[[In a Grove]]", the [[Ryūnosuke Akutagawa]] short story the 1950 film ''[[Rashomon]]'' is based on.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Santos |first=Víctor |date=October 18, 2017 |title=''Rashomon: A Commissioner Heigo Kobayashi Case'' |publisher=Dark Horse Comics |url=https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/28-126/Rashomon-A-Commissioner-Heigo-Kobayashi-Case-HC}}</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
Image:Oishi_Yoshio_and_the_16_partisans_with_unswerving_loyalty.jpg|Memorial to the unswerving loyalty of [[Ōishi Yoshio]] and the others, at the site where they died
Image:Sengakuji Ronin Graves.jpg|[[Incense]] burns at the graves of the forty-seven rōnin at Sengaku-ji
Image:Sengakuji2.jpg|Entrance to Sengaku Temple
Image:Chushingura.47ronin.attackingthehouseofkira.print.kunisada.i.01.obverse.refshot.jpg|Woodcut by [[Kunisada]] depicting the attack (early 1800s)
Image:47_Ronin_garden_raid.jpg|Postcard depicting the attack, early 1920s
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Japan}}
*[[History of Tokyo]]
*[[Japanese mythology]]

== References ==

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|30em}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* Allyn, John. (1981). ''The Forty-Seven Ronin Story''. New York.
* Benesch, Oleg (2014). ''[http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780198706625.do Inventing the Way of the Samurai: Nationalism, Internationalism, and Bushido in Modern Japan]''. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
* Dickens, Frederick V. (1930). ''Chushingura, or The Loyal League''. London.
* Forbes, Andrew; Henley, David (2012). ''Forty-Seven Ronin: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi Edition''. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN: B00ADQGLB8.
* Forbes, Andrew; Henley, David (2012). ''Forty-Seven Ronin: Utagawa Kuniyoshi Edition''. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN: B00ADQM8II.
* Keene, Donald. (1971). ''Chushingura: A Puppet Play''. New York.
* {{Cite book |last=Freeman-Mitford |first=Algernon Bertram |year=1871 |title=Tales of Old Japan |location=London |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13015 |publisher=University of Michigan}}
* Robinson, B. W. (1982). ''Kuniyoshi: The Warrior Prints''. Ithaca, NY.
* Sato, Hiroaki. (1995). ''Legends of the Samurai''. New York.
* Steward, Basil. (1922). ''Subjects Portrayed in Japanese Colour-Prints''. New York.
* {{cite book |last=Titsingh |first=Isaac |editor-last=Screech |editor-first=Timon |title=Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822 |date=17 March 2006 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-1-135-78737-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f1aQAgAAQBAJ |language=en}}
* Weinberg, David R. et al. (2001). ''Kuniyoshi: The Faithful Samurai''. Leiden.
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* Borges, Jorge Luís (1935). ''The Uncivil Teacher of Court Etiquette Kôtsuké no Suké''; A Universal History of Infamy, Buenos aires 1954, Emecé 1945 {{ISBN|0-525-47546-X}}
* Harper, Thomas (2019). ''47: The True Story of the Vendetta of the 47 Ronin from Akô'' . Leete's Island Books. {{ISBN|978-0918172778}}.
* Turnbull, Stephen (2011). ''The Revenge of the 47 Ronin'', Edo 1703; Osprey Raid Series #23, Osprey Publishing. {{ISBN|978-1-84908-427-7}}

==External links==
* Robson, Lucia St. Clair (1991). ''The Tokaido Road''. Forge Books. New York.
* [http://www.columbia.edu/~hds2/chushinguranew/index.htm Chushingura and the Samurai Tradition] – Comparisons of the accuracy of accounts by Mitford, [[James Murdoch (Scottish Orientalist)|Murdoch]] and others, as well as much other useful material, by noted scholars of Japan
* [http://www.eonet.ne.jp/~chushingura/index.htm Ako's Forty-Seven Samurai] – Web site produced by students at Akō High School; contains the story of the 47 ronin's story, and images of wooden votive tablets of the 47 ronin in the Ōishi Shrine, Akō
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131102214721/http://202.231.40.34/jpub/pdf/jr/IJ1601.pdf The Trouble with Terasaka: The Forty-Seventh Ronin and the Chushingura Imagination] by Henry D. Smith II, ''Japan Review'', 2004, 16:3–65
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050806012327/http://www.hiroshige.org.uk/hiroshige/historical_subjects/historical_subjects.htm Five different woodblock print versions of the story by Ando Hiroshige]
* National Diet Library: [http://www.ndl.go.jp/scenery/e/data/389/index.html?type=category&p=temples_shrines photograph of Sengaku-ji (1893)]; [http://www.ndl.go.jp/scenery/e/data/390/index.html?type=category&p=temples_shrines photograph of Sengaku-ji (1911)]
* [http://www.yoshitoshi.net/series/47ronin.html Yoshitoshi, 47 Ronin series (1860)]
* [http://www.47ronins.com Discover the tales of Chushingura, the 47 Ronins] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204115118/http://www.47ronins.com/ |date=4 December 2017 }}
* Learn more about the Bushido Way and the Hagakure's criticism of the 47 Ronin.https://think.iafor.org/bushido-way-death/
* [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13015 Tales of Old Japan by Baron Redesdale (Algernon Mitford)] - The first tale is the 47 Ronin.
{{Forty-seven Ronin}}
{{Authority control}}

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