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The Legend of the 47 Rōnin
(Stampa di Kunikazu Utagawa)
The Forty-seven Rōnin were a group of samurai in the service of Asano Naganori (whose title was Takumi no Kami), remained without a master (and thus becoming Rōnin ) after their daimyo was forced to commit seppuku (Japanese ritual suicide) for assaulting the master of the protocol of the Shogun, Kira Yoshinaka (who had the title of Kōzuke no suke), who had insulted him.
The Story
Asano Takumi Naganori (1667-1701), head of a branch of the powerful Asano's clan, Lord of Ako Castle, in the province of Harima, was chosen by the Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, to be one of the feudal lords (daimyo) sent to the court of Kyoto for an official visit to the imperial family.
In order to assist him in this task, and to teach him the label of the court, he was joined by a master of protocol, Kira Yoshinaka Kozukenosuke (1641-1702).
Kira apparently expecting to be rewarded with money and valuable gifts for the job, while Asano thought it was a dutiful task assigned by the shogun.
Disputes arose between the two , and Kira who tried to embarrass his student. In April 1701, at Shogun's palace, the situation degenerated '.
(Asano Takumi Naganori)
Kira publicly insulted Asano, and Asano drew the sword, wounding Kira slightly. The gesture was very serious as at the imperial residence was absolutely forbidden to use weapons.
During the interrogation Asano did not try to defend himself. He asserted , instead of being sorry, that he had been not able to kill Kira.
For this reason, at the end of the investigation, Asano was invited to perform ritual suicide (seppuku) and the confiscation of his property was ordered, his brother Daigaku was sentenced to the house arrest and the dissolution of his clan consists of 321 samurai was ruled.
(Kira Kozukenosuke Yoshinaka)
Asano naturally obeyed and to save his honor committed suicide.
When the news came to Asano's castle, his men felt turmoil and uncertainty . Some were favorable to disperse while another group was willing to defend the castle and start a battle.
Oishi Kuranosuke Yoshio suggested to leave the castle and let the confiscation pacefully happen, waiting for more favorable moment to fight and take revenge on Kira and rehabilitating Asano family name .
Thus, the Asano's samurai group, now become rōnin (masterless warriors), and began to study a plan for revenge.
Kira, meanwhile, expecting a reaction had greatly increased his personal guard and security of his palace.
The Oishi plan, therefore, was to calm the waters, and eliminate any suspicion. So he was calm, sly and cunning.
The 59 rōnin who joined the Oishi plan hid their weapons and dispersed: some sought other engagements while others, including the same Oishi, start a wandering life, as if they had lost all hope for the future.
Oishi, knowing that what he was doing would have had serious consequences for his family, divorced from his wife, but his eldest son, Chikara, decided to fight alongside his father.
(Oishi Kuranosuke Yoshio)
To mask his real intentions, Oishi start going to Edo ill repute houses, carousing in the company of prostitutes and getting involved in drunken brawls.
One day, a samurai of Satsuma crossed Oishi, who pretended to be drunk in the street, and spit him telling him that he was no longer a true samurai.
But what mattered was only their mission, some dressed as monks gathered information, other men approached Kira in the houses of pleasure. One of the rōnin married the daughter of the builder of the palace of Kira to know all the secrets. After about a year Kira thought he wasn't more in danger and relaxed the guard.
It was the right time to act.
On December 14, 1702 it was a cold and snowy night. The 47 ronin met (12 had left the project) and after recovering from their hiding weapons and armor, went to the palace of Kira, splitting into two groups .
To move undisturbed, the group were dressed as quenchers of fire: the first group, led by Oshi's son, step over the fence on the back side of the building while the second, headed by the same Oshi, forced the main entrance and broke down the gate.
A drumbeat would start the attack, while the sound of a whistle would announce that Kira had been found. The 61 samurai guard were taken completely by surprise, tried to resist, but they were literally overwhelmed. Many died or were left wounded on the ground, while only one of the attackers rōnin lost his life.
Kira was discovered hiding in a closet, Oishi offered him 'the opportunity' to commit suicide but Kira asked for pity offering money in exchange for his life. Oishi cut his head with the same sword that Asano used to kill himself.
Kira's head, cleaned and washed, was placed in a basket and taken to the temple where Asano was cremated.
The basket and the sword of Asano were placed at the foot of the tomb of the Lord of Ako to honor his spirit.
Oishi put his sword at the base of the headstone with the handle towards the grave and the blade facing towards the head of Kira and laid a writing directed to his master:
"Lord, we have come here today to pay homage. We could not have dared to introduce us in front of you before we have completed the revenge you started. Everyday of forced wait was so long that it seemed like three autumns. Now, Sir, we escorted Kira right here, in front of your grave and we also report this sword that had so much value to you last year and that you have entrusted to us. Please hand it to hit a second time the head of your enemy, thus freeing you, forever, from your hatred. "
This action naturally aroused great clamour and concern.
The 46 surviving Ronin , in fact, had done nothing more than show loyalty 'to their lord according to the dictates of Bushido, but they had also broken the law that prohibited the Shogun's personal vendettas.
Furthermore, the decision to force Asano to commit suicide and to confiscate its assets without taking any action against Kira, had not been accepted favorably by many , resulting unpopular, to the point that one of the inspectors in charge of investigations had protested against the verdict and had been degraded.
But the order had to be protected so the magistrate (Bakufu) and all the 46 rōnin were ordered to commit suicide.
On February 4, 1703 Oishi and his ronin obeyed the order, and their bodies were then cremated and buried together near the temple of Sengakuji Asano (Tokyo) and that even today it is destination for visits by those who want to honor his memory.
Legend say that the samurai of Satsuma went to the sanctuary and opened his the belly to atone for the guilt of having insulted Oishi spitting in him.
www.cultorweb.com/Ronin/47.html
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarantasette_R%C5%8Dnin*Attention please* - - "This translation (and / or content) is made by Sylvhia exclusively for "I Nove Mondi Forum". In case of partial or full release is mandatory to link to the original source and the required credits".
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The Legend of the 47 Rōnin01 Luglio 2014 |
