47 Ronin

My last few days in Japan were spent mostly hanging out with Marty, and a brief period in Tokyo where I saw the Tomb of the 47 Samurai before getting on a plane to China.

The 47 Loyal Retainers are a group of Samurai made famous by their loyalty to their lord even after his own death. The story is recorded in the play "Chushingura" which is an excellent piece of storytelling, and shares my number 1 play spot with Romeo and Juliet. The short version of the story goes like this.

In Shogunate era Japan, Daimyo, warlords who ruled the Shogun's various pieces of land, were forced to spend a few months out of the year in Edo. This was both so the Shogun could keep an eye on them, and to force them to have the expense of maintaining two residences, and thus make them unable to ferment a rebellion. Lord Asano, one of these Daimyo, was said to be good and fair to his people, and loyal to the Shogun, though quick to temper. His rival was Lord Kira, an old man who schemed to take Asano's land from him.

Kira knew Asano's weakness was his quick temper, so he set up a situation where he could provoke Asano's wrath where it would be his downfall. In the shogun's palace, it was forbidden to draw your sword. Kira, in a meeting with some other Daimyo, insulted Asano's wife. Enraged, Asano drew his sword and wounded Kira, slashing him across the forehead. When he realized what he had done, he was horrified. Breaking the Shogun's hospitality meant Seppuku, ritual suicide. His lands would go to Kira as compensation for the injury.

Asano was forced to commit seppuku as matter of honor. His loyal retainers (lower ranked samurai who worked for him) vowed revenge for their master's death. Knowing that Kira would fear revenge, they made a plan and then scattered to the four winds, making it look as though they had given up thoughts of revenge. A year and ten months later, in the dead of winter, all 47 returned to Edo, stormed Kira's residence, cut off his head, and then marched 5 kilometers to Asano's grave, where they presented the head to their dead master. They then sat down and awaited the shogun's judgment.

They were all ordered to commit seppuku. A few years later the play, Chushingura, was written about their deeds. It was immediately censored, and remained so until the 20th century. To this day, their story represents Japan's ideal of filial loyalty and comradeship.

The shine has great personal meaning to me. Once there, I got to tour the museum on the property, and pay my respects by burning incense in front of Lord Asano's grave and the graves of each of the 47. I was not expecting to have the opportunity to burn incense, and was glad of it. It is the traditional Buddhist way of honoring the dead, and in keeping with the burial rites of these Samurai.

The 47 Ronin would be my last act in Japan.