Forty-seven rōnin
The revenge of the forty-seven rōnin (四十七士, Shijūshichishi), also known as the Akō incident (赤穂事件, Akō jiken) or Akō vendetta, is a historical event in Japan in which a band of rōnin (lordless samurai) avenged the death of their master on 31 January 1703. The incident has since become legendary. It is one of the three major adauchi vendetta incidents in Japan, alongside the Revenge of the Soga Brothers and the Igagoe vendetta.
"Revenge of the Loyal Samurai of Akō" by Yasuda Raishū (ja) (Homma Museum of Art), with iconography borrowed from the Adoration of the Shepherds | |
| Native name | 赤穂事件 |
|---|---|
| English name | Akō incident |
| Date | 31 January 1703 |
| Venue | Kira Residence |
| Coordinates | 35°41′36.0″N 139°47′39.5″E |
| Type | Revenge attack |
| Cause | Death of Asano Naganori |
| Target | To have Kira Yoshinaka commit ritual suicide (seppuku) to avenge their master Asano Naganori's death |
| First reporter | Terasaka Kichiemon |
| Organised by | Forty-seven rōnin (四十七士, Akō-rōshi (赤穂浪士)) led by Ōishi Yoshio |
| Participants | 47 |
| Casualties | |
| Forty-seven rōnin: 0 | |
| Kira Yoshinaka and retainers: 41 | |
| Deaths | 19 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 22 |
| Accused | Forty-seven rōnin |
| Sentence | 46 rōnin sentenced to ritual suicide (seppuku) on 4 February 1703, with 1 pardoned |
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 named Kira Yoshinaka after the court official insulted him. After waiting and planning for a year, the rōnin avenged their master's honor 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 honorable death for the crime of murder. This true story was popular in Japanese culture as emblematic of the loyalty, sacrifice, persistence, and honor (qualities samurai follow called bushidō) that people should display in their daily lives. The popularity of the tale grew during the 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 shogunate in the Genroku era, which forbade 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, 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. To this day, the story remains popular in Japan, and each year on 14 December, Sengakuji Temple, where Asano Naganori and the rōnin are buried, holds a festival commemorating the event.