Chushingura
Encyclopedia
is the name for fictionalized accounts of the historical revenge by the Forty-seven Ronin
of the death of their master, Asano Naganori
. Including the early , the story has been told in kabuki
, bunraku
, stage plays, films, novels, television shows and other media. With ten different television productions in the years 1997–2007 alone, the Chūshingura ranks among the most familiar of all stories in Japan
.
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
placed Asano Takumi-no-kami Naganori, the daimyo
of Akō
, in charge of a reception of envoys from the Imperial Court in Kyoto
. He also appointed the protocol official (kōke
) Kira Kōzuke-no-suke Yoshinaka
to instruct Asano in the ceremonies. On the day of the reception, at Edo Castle
, Asano drew his short sword
and attempted to kill Kira. His reasons are not known, but many purport that insult was involved. For this, he was sentenced to commit seppuku
, but Kira went without punishment. The shogunate confiscated Asano's lands (the Akō Domain
) and dismissed the samurai
who had served him, making them ronin
.
Nearly two years later, Ōishi Kuranosuke Yoshio
, who had been a high-ranking samurai in the service of Asano, led a group of forty-six/forty-seven of the ronin (some discount the membership of one for various reasons.) They broke into Kira's mansion in Edo
, captured and executed Kira, and laid his head at the grave of Asano. Then they turned themselves in to the authorities, and were sentenced to commit seppuku, which they all did on the same day that year. Ōishi is the protagonist in most retellings of the fictionalized form of what became known as the Akō incident, or, in its fictionalized form, the Treasury of Loyal Retainers (Chūshingura).
In 1822, the earliest known account of the Akō incident in the West was published in Isaac Titsingh
's posthumous book, Illustrations of Japan.
and written by Takeda Izumo (1691–1756), Miyoshi Shōraku (c.1696–1772) and Namiki Senryū (1695–c.1751). It was first performed in August 1748 at the Takemoto-za
theatre in the Dōtonbori
entertainment district in Osaka
, and an almost identical kabuki adaptation appeared later that year. The title means "Kana
practice book Treasury of the loyal retainers." The "kana practice book" aspect refers to the coincidence that the number of ronin matches the number of kana, and the play portrayed the ronin as each prominently displaying one kana to identify him. The forty-seven rōnin were the loyal retainers of Asano; the title likened them to a warehouse full of treasure. To avoid censorship, the authors placed the action in the time of the Taiheiki
(a few centuries earlier), changing the names of the principals. The play is performed every year in both the bunraku and kabuki versions, though more often than not it is only a few selected acts which are performed and not the entire work.
Sections of the following synopsis of Kanadehon Chūshingura are reproduced by permission from the book A Guide to the Japanese Stage by Ronald Cavaye
, Paul Griffith and Akihiko Senda, published by Kodansha International, Japan:
Kanadehon Chūshingura (“The Treasury of Loyal Retainers”) is based on a true incident which took place between 1701 and 1703. To avoid shogunate censorship, the authors set the play in the earlier Muromachi period (1333-1568) and the names of the characters were altered.
The central story concerns the daimyō Enya Hangan, who is goaded into drawing his sword and striking a senior lord, Kô no Moronō (Note: although the furigana for Moronō's name is Moronao, the pronunciation is Moronō). Drawing one’s sword in the shogun’s palace was a capital offense and so Hangan is ordered to commit seppuku
, or ritual suicide by disembowelment. The ceremony is carried out with great formality and, with his dying breath, he makes clear to his chief retainer, Ōboshi Yuranosuke, that he wishes to be avenged upon Moronô.
Forty-seven of Hangan’s now masterless samurai or rōnin bide their time. Yuranosuke in particular, appears to give himself over to a life of debauchery in Kyoto’s Gion pleasure quarters in order to put the enemy off their guard. In fact, they make stealthy but meticulous preparations and, in the depths of winter, storm Moronō’s Edo mansion and kill him. Aware, however, that this deed is itself an offense, the retainers then carry Moronō’s head to the grave of their lord at Sengaku-ji temple in Edo, where they all commit seppuku.
Act I, Tsurugaoka kabuto aratame (“The Helmet Selection at Hachiman Shrine”)
This play has a unique opening, in which the curtain is pulled open slowly over several minutes, accompanied by forty-seven individual beats of the ki, one for each of the heroic rōnin. Gradually, the actors are revealed in front of the Hachiman Shrine in Kamakura slumped over like lifeless puppets. As the gidayū narrator speaks the name of each character he comes to life. Lord Moronō’s evil nature is immediately demonstrated by his black robes and the furious mie pose which he strikes when his name is announced. He is hostile to the younger, inexperienced lords. They have all gathered to find and present a special helmet at the shrine and it is Hangan’s wife, Kaoyo, who is the one to identify it. When the ceremony is over and he is eventually left alone with Kaoyo, Moronō propositions her but she rejects his amorous advances.
Act II, The Scriptorium of the Kenchōji Temple
When Act II is performed as Kabuki it is often given in a later version, first performed by Ichikawa Danjūrō VII (1791-1859), and entitled “The Scriptorium of the Kenchōji Temple”. A performance of Act II is extremely rare, even “complete” (tōshi kyōgen) performances almost never include it. The original puppet and Kabuki scripts of Act II are similar and the story is as follows -
The act takes place in the mansion of the young daimyō, Momonoi Wakasanosuke. His chief retainer, Kakogawa Honzō, admonishes the servants for gossiping about the humiliation of their master by Moronō at the previous day’s ceremony at the Tsurugaoka shrine. Even Honzō’s wife, Tonase, and daughter, Konami, speak of it.
Ōboshi Rikiya, Konami’s betrothed and the son of Enya Hangan’s chief retainer, Ōboshi Yuranosuke, arrives with a message that Moronō has commanded that both Hangan and Wakasanosuke appear at the palace by four in the morning in order to prepare the ceremonies for the Shogun’s younger brother whom they are to entertain.
Wakasanosuke hears the message and dismisses them all apart from Honzō. He speaks of the insults which he suffered and his determination to take his revenge. He decides to kill Moronō tomorrow even if such a rash and illegal act brings about the eradication of his household.
Surprisingly, the older and wiser Honzō sympathises with him and, as a symbol that Wakasanosuke should go through with the attack, he cuts off the branch of a bonsai pine tree. It is one o’clock in the morning and Wakasanosuke goes off to bid farewell to his wife for the last time.
As soon as his master leaves Honzō calls urgently for his horse. Forbidding his wife and daughter from disclosing his intentions, he gallops off to Moronō’s mansion to prevent what would be a disaster both for his master and his master’s house.
Act III, scene 2, Matsu no rōka (“The Pine Corridor in the Shogun’s Palace”)
This is the scene which seals Hangan’s fate. Offended by Kaoyo’s rebuff, Moronō hurls insults at Hangan, accusing him of incompetence and of being late for his duties. Hangan, he says, is like a little fish: he is adequate within the safe confines of a well (his own little domain), but put him in the great river (the shogun’s mansion in the capital) and he soon hits his nose against the pillar of a bridge and dies. Unable to bear the insults any longer, Hangan strikes Moronō but, to his eternal chagrin, is restrained from killing him by Wakasanosuke's retainer Kakogawa Honzō.
Act IV, scene 1, Enya yakata no ba (“Enya Hangan’s Seppuku”)
Hangan is ordered to commit seppuku and his castle is confiscated. The emotional highlight of this scene is Hangan’s death. The preparations for the ceremony are elaborate and formal. He must kill himself on two upturned tatami mats which are covered with a white cloth and have small vases of anise placed at the four corners. The details of the seppuku were strictly prescribed: the initial cut is under the left rib-cage, the blade is then drawn to the right and, finally, a small upward cut is made before withdrawing the blade. Hangan delays as long as he can, however, for he is anxious to have one last word with his chief retainer, Yuranosuke. At the last moment, Yuranosuke rushes in to hear his lord’s dying wish to be avenged on Moronô. Hangan is left to despatch himself by cutting his own jugular vein.
Act IV, scene 2, Uramon (“The Rear Gate of the Mansion”)
Night has fallen and Yuranosuke, left alone, bids a sad farewell to their mansion. He holds the bloody dagger with which his lord killed himself and licks it as an oath to carry out his lord’s dying wish. The curtain closes and a lone shamisen player enters to the side of the stage, accompanying Yuranosuke’s desolate exit along the hanamichi.
Interact, Michiyuki tabiji no hanamuko (Ochiudo) (“The Fugitives”)
This michiyuki
or “travel-dance” was added to the play in 1833 and is very often performed separately. The dance depicts the lovers Okaru and Kanpei journeying to the home of Okaru’s parents in the country after Hangan’s death. Kanpei was the retainer who accompanied Hangan to the shogun’s mansion and he is now guilt ridden at his failure to protect his lord. He would take his own life to atone for his sin, but Okaru persuades him to wait. The couple are waylaid by the comical Sagisaki Bannai and his foolish men. They are working for Lord Moronō but Kanpei easily defeats them and they continue on their way.
Act V, scene 1, Yamazaki kaidō teppō watashi no ba (“The Musket Shots on the Yamazaki Highway”)
While only a peripheral part of the story, these two scenes are very popular because of their fine staging and dramatic action. Kanpei is now living with Okaru’s parents and is desperate to join the vendetta. On a dark, rainy night we see him out hunting wild boar.
Meanwhile, Okaru has agreed that her father, Yoichibei, sell her into prostitution in Kyoto to raise money for the vendetta. On his way home from the Gion pleasure quarter with half the cash as a down payment, Yoichibei is, however, murdered and robbed by Sadakurô, the wicked son of Kudayū, one of Hangan’s retainers. Sadakurō is dressed in a stark black kimono and, though brief, this role is famous for its sinister and blood curdling appeal.
Kanpei shoots at a wild boar but misses. Instead, the shot hits Sadakurō and, as he dies, the blood drips from Sadakurō’s mouth onto his exposed white thigh. Kanpei finds the body but cannot see who it is in the darkness. Hardly believing his luck, he discovers the money on the body, and decides to take it to give to the vendetta.
Act VI, Kanpei seppuku no ba (“Kanpei’s Seppuku”)
Yoichibei’s murder is discovered and Kanpei, believing mistakenly that he is responsible, commits seppuku. The truth, however, is revealed before he draws his last breath and, in his own blood, Kanpei is permitted to add his name to the vendetta list.
Act VII , Gion Ichiriki no ba (“The Ichiriki Teahouse at Gion
”)
This act gives a taste of the bustling atmosphere of the Gion pleasure quarter in Kyoto. Yuranosuke is feigning a life of debauchery at the same teahouse to which Okaru has been indentured. Kudayū, the father of Sadakurō, arrives. He is now working for Moronō and his purpose is to discover whether Yuranosuke still plans revenge or not. He tests Yuranosuke’s resolve by offering him food on the anniversary of their lord’s death when he should be fasting. Yuranosuke is forced to accept. Yuranosuke’s sword – the revered symbol of a samurai – is also found to be covered in rust. It would appear that Yuranosuke has no thoughts of revenge. But still unsure, Kudayū hides under the veranda.
Now believing himself alone, Yuranosuke begins to read a secret letter scroll about preparations for the vendetta. On a higher balcony Okaru comes out to cool herself in the evening breeze and, noticing Yuranosuke close by, she also reads the letter reflected in her mirror. As Yuranosuke unrolls the scroll, Kudayū, too, examines the end which trails below the veranda. Suddenly, one of Okaru’s hairpins drops to the floor and a shocked Yuranosuke quickly rolls up the scroll. Finding the end of the letter torn off, he realises that yet another person knows his secret and he must silence them both. Feigning merriment, he calls Okaru to come down and offers to buy out her contract. He goes off supposedly to fix the deal. Then Okaru’s brother Heiemon enters and, hearing what has just happened, realises that Yuranosuke actually intends to keep her quiet by killing her. He persuades Okaru to let him kill her instead so as to save their honour and she agrees. Overhearing everything, Yuranosuke is now convinced of the pair’s loyalty and stops them. He gives Okaru a sword and, guiding her hand, thrusts it through the floorboards to kill Kudayū.
Act VIII, Michiyuki tabiji no yomeiri (“The Bride’s Journey”)
When Enya Hangan drew his sword against the evil Moronō within the shogun’s palace, it was Kakogawa Honzō who held him back, preventing him from killing the older lord. Honzō’s daughter, Konami, is betrothed to Yuranosuke’s son, Rikiya, but since that fateful event the marriage arrangements have been stalled, causing much embarrassment to the girl. Not prepared to leave things as they are, Honzō’s wife, Tonase, resolves to deliver Konami to Yuranosuke’s home in order to force the marriage.
This act takes the form of a michiyuki dance in which Tonase leads her stepdaughter along the great Tōkaidō Highway, the main thoroughfare linking Edo in the east with Kyoto in the west. On the way, they pass a number of famous sites such as Mt. Fuji and, as a marriage procession passes by, Konami watches enviously, thinking that in better times she herself would have ridden in just such a grand palanquin. Tonase encourages her daughter, telling her of the happiness to come once she is wed.
Act IX, Yamashina kankyo no ba (“The Retreat at Yamashina”)
Set in the depths of winter, Kakogawa Honzō’s wife Tonase, and daughter Konami, arrive at Yuranosuke’s home in Yamashina near Kyoto. Yuranosuke’s wife is adamant that after all that has happened there can be no possibility of marriage between Konami and Rikiya. In despair, Tonase and Konami decide to take their own lives. Just then, Honzō arrives disguised as a wandering priest. To atone for his part in restraining Hangan from killing Moronō, he deliberately pulls Rikiya’s spear into his own stomach and, dying, gives Yuranosuke and Rikiya a plan of Moronō’s mansion in Edo.
Act X, Amakawaya Gihei Uchi no ba - “The House Amakawaya Gihei
Act X is only rarely performed but provides a realistic interim (performed in the sewamono style) between Yuranosuke setting out at the end of Act IX and the final vendetta. The action takes place at the premises of Amakawaya Gihei, a merchant who lives in the port of Sakai, near Osaka. Yuranosuke has entrusted Gihei with the purchase and shipment to Kamakura of all the weapons, armour and other equipment which they will need for the vendetta. Knowing that he may be linked to the vendetta, Gihei has been preparing by dismissing his staff so that they would not be aware of what he was doing. He has even sent his wife, Osono, to her father’s so that she would be out of the way.
The act usually opens with some of the boatmen discussing the loading of the chests and the weather and, as they go off, Gihei’s father-in-law, Ryōchiku, comes, demanding a letter of divorce so that he can marry Osono off to another man. Gihei agrees, thinking that his wife has betrayed him.
After Ryōchiku’s departure, law officers arrive and accuse Gihei of being in league with Hangan’s former retainers. Gihei refuses to allow them to open one of the chests of weapons and armour, even threatening to kill his own son to allay their suspicions. Suddenly Yuranosuke himself appears and confesses that the law officers are, in fact, members of the vendetta and that he sent them to test Gihei’s loyalty. He praises Gihei’s resolution and commitment to their cause.
As they all go off to a back room for a celebratory drink of sake, Gihei’s wife, Osono arrives, wishing both to return the letter of divorce, which she has stolen from her father, and to see their child.
Gihei, however, torn between his love for his wife and his duty to Yuranosuke reluctantly forces her to leave. Shut outside, she is attacked in the dark by two men who steal her hair pins and combs and cut off her hair.
Yuranosuke and his men reappear and, about to depart, place some gifts for Gihei on an open fan. The gifts turn out to be Osono’s shorn hair and ornaments. Yuranosuke had his men attack her and cut her hair to that her father would be unable to marry her off. No one would take a wife with hair as short as a nun’s. In hundred days, he says, her hair will grow back and she can be reconciled with her husband, Gihei. By then, Yuranosuke and his men will also have achieved their goal. Gihei and Osono, overawed by his kindness, offer their deepest thanks. Yuranosuke and his men depart for their ship.
Act XI, Koke uchiiri no ba (“The Attack on Moronô’s Mansion”)
The final act takes place at Moronō’s mansion on a snowy night. The attack is presented in a series of tachimawari fight scenes before Moronō is finally captured and killed.
The story was adapted for film again in 1928. This version, Jitsuroku Chushingura
, was made by film-maker Shōzō Makino to commemorate his 50th birthday. Parts of the original film were destroyed when fire broke out during the production. However, these sequences have been restored with new technology.
A Nikkatsu
film retold the events to audiences in 1930. It featured the famous Ōkōchi Denjirō in the role of Ōishi. Since then, three generations of leading men have starred in the role. Younger actors play Asano, and the role of Aguri, wife (and later widow) of Asano, is reserved for the most beautiful actresses. Kira, who was over sixty at his death, requires an older actor. Ōkōchi reprised the role in 1934. Other actors who have portrayed Ōishi in film include Bandō Tsumasaburō (1938), and Kawarasaki Chōjūrō IV (1941).
In 1941 the Japanese military commissioned director Kenji Mizoguchi
(Ugetsu
) to make The 47 Ronin
. They wanted a ferocious morale booster based upon the familiar rekishi geki ("historical drama") of "The Loyal 47 Ronin". Instead, Mizoguchi chose for his source Mayama Chushingura, a cerebral play dealing with the story. The 47 Ronin 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 Part One's lukewarm reception. The film was celebrated by foreign scholars who saw it in Japan; it was not shown in America until the 1970s.
During the occupation of Japan, the GHQ
banned performances of the story, charging them with promoting feudal values. Under the influence of Faubion Bowers
, the ban was lifted in 1947. In 1952, the first film portrayal of Ōishi by Chiezō Kataoka
appeared; he took the part again in 1959 and 1961. Matsumoto Kōshirō VIII
(later Hakuō), Ichikawa Utaemon, Ichikawa Ennosuke II, Kinnosuke Yorozuya Ken Takakura
, and Masahiko Tsugawa
are among the most noteworthy actors to portray Ōishi.
The story was told again in the 1962 Toho
production by the acclaimed director Hiroshi Inagaki
, and titled Chushingura: Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki. The actor Matsumoto Kōshirō
starred as Chamberlain Ōishi Kuranosuke. The actress Setsuko Hara
retired following her appearance as Riku, wife of Ōishi.
Taiga drama
Akō Rōshi was followed by no fewer than 21 television productions of Chūshingura. Toshirō Mifune
starred in the 1971 Daichūshingura
on NET
, and Kinnosuke Yorozuya crossed over from film to play the same role in 1979, also on NET. Tōge no Gunzō, the third NHK Taiga drama on the subject, starred Ken Ogata
, and renowned director Juzo Itami
appeared as Kira. In 2001 Fuji TV made a four hour special of the story starring Takuya Kimura
as Horibe Yasubei (one of the Akō ronin) and Kōichi Satō
as Ōishi Kuranosuke, called Chūshingura 1/47
. Kōtarō Satomi
, Matsumoto Kōshirō IX
, Beat Takeshi
, Tatsuya Nakadai
, Hiroki Matsukata
, Kinya Kitaōji, Akira Emoto, Akira Nakao
, Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII, Ken Matsudaira
, and Shinichi Tsutsumi
are among the many stars to play Ōishi. Hisaya Morishige
, Naoto Takenaka
, and others have portrayed Kira. Izumi Inamori
starred as Aguri (Yōzeiin), the central character in the ten-hour 2007 special Chūshingura Yōzeiin no Inbō.
The 1927 novel by Jirō Osaragi
was the basis for the 1964 Taiga drama Akō Rōshi. Eiji Yoshikawa
, Seiichi Funahashi, Futaro Yamada
, Kōhei Tsuka, and Shōichirō Ikemiya have also published novels on the subject. Maruya Saiichi
, Motohiko Izawa, and Kazuo Kumada have written criticisms of it.
created a ballet work called "The Kabuki" based on the Chushingura legend in 1986, and it has been performed more than 140 times in 14 nations world wide by 2006.
from its Crown of Creation
album.
Forty-seven Ronin
The revenge of the , also known as the Forty-seven Samurai, the Akō vendetta, or the took place in Japan at the start of the 18th century...
of the death of their master, Asano Naganori
Asano Naganori
was the daimyo of the Akō Domain in Japan . His title was Takumi no Kami . He is known as the person who triggered a series of incidents retold in a story known as Chushingura, one of the favourite themes of kabuki, joruri and Japanese books and films.He was born in Edo as the eldest son of Asano...
. Including the early , the story has been told in kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
, bunraku
Bunraku
, also known as Ningyō jōruri , is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684.Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:* Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai—puppeteers* Tayū—the chanters* Shamisen players...
, stage plays, films, novels, television shows and other media. With ten different television productions in the years 1997–2007 alone, the Chūshingura ranks among the most familiar of all stories in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Historical events
The historical basis for the narrative begins in 1701. The ruling shogunTokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
was the fifth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, thus making him the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu....
placed Asano Takumi-no-kami Naganori, the daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
of Akō
Ako, Hyogo
is a city located in the south west of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.As of April 30, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 50,902, with a household number of 19,841 and a density of 401.18 persons per km². The total area is 126.88 km². The city was officially founded on September 1, 1951...
, in charge of a reception of envoys from the Imperial Court in Kyoto
Imperial Court in Kyoto
thumb|left|350px|Front view of Kyoto imperial palaceImperial Court in Kyoto was the nominal ruling government of Japan from 794 AD until the Meiji Era, in which the court was moved to Tokyo and integrated into the Meiji government....
. He also appointed the protocol official (kōke
Koke
A was a noble ranking below a daimyo in Japan during the Edo period. Their lands were assessed at less than ten thousand koku, making them ineligible for the rank of daimyo.Unlike hatamoto, whose duties were military, the kōke had certain privileged missions...
) Kira Kōzuke-no-suke Yoshinaka
Kira Yoshinaka
was a kōke . His court title was Kōzuke no suke. He is famous as the adversary of Asano Naganori in the events of the Forty-seven Ronin...
to instruct Asano in the ceremonies. On the day of the reception, at Edo Castle
Edo Castle
, also known as , is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan. It is located in Chiyoda in Tokyo, then known as Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa shogunate here. It was the residence of the shogun and location of the shogunate, and also...
, Asano drew his short sword
Wakizashi
The is one of the traditional Japanese swords worn by the samurai class in feudal Japan.-Description:...
and attempted to kill Kira. His reasons are not known, but many purport that insult was involved. For this, he was sentenced to commit seppuku
Seppuku
is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...
, but Kira went without punishment. The shogunate confiscated Asano's lands (the Akō Domain
Ako Domain
The was a domain in feudal Japan. It was located in Harima Province and coincided with the present-day cities of Akō and Aioi and the town of Kamigōri in Hyōgo Prefecture. The domain had its headquarters at Akō Castle....
) and dismissed the samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
who had served him, making them ronin
Ronin
A or rounin was a Bushi with no lord or master during the feudal period of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the death or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege....
.
Nearly two years later, Ōishi Kuranosuke Yoshio
Oishi Yoshio
was the chamberlain of the Akō Domain in Harima Province , Japan . He is known as the leader of the Forty-seven Ronin in their 1702 vendetta and thus the hero of the Chūshingura...
, who had been a high-ranking samurai in the service of Asano, led a group of forty-six/forty-seven of the ronin (some discount the membership of one for various reasons.) They broke into Kira's mansion in Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
, captured and executed Kira, and laid his head at the grave of Asano. Then they turned themselves in to the authorities, and were sentenced to commit seppuku, which they all did on the same day that year. Ōishi is the protagonist in most retellings of the fictionalized form of what became known as the Akō incident, or, in its fictionalized form, the Treasury of Loyal Retainers (Chūshingura).
In 1822, the earliest known account of the Akō incident in the West was published in Isaac Titsingh
Isaac Titsingh
Isaac Titsingh FRS was a Dutch surgeon, scholar, merchant-trader and ambassador.During a long career in East Asia, Titsingh was a senior official of the Dutch East India Company . He represented the European trading company in exclusive official contact with Tokugawa Japan...
's posthumous book, Illustrations of Japan.
Bunraku（文楽）
The puppet play based on this story was entitled Kanadehon ChūshinguraKanadehon Chūshingura
Chūshingura is an 11-act bunraku puppet play composed in 1748. It is one of the most popular Japanese plays, ranked with Zeami's Matsukaze, although the vivid action of Chūshingura differs dramatically from Matsukaze...
and written by Takeda Izumo (1691–1756), Miyoshi Shōraku (c.1696–1772) and Namiki Senryū (1695–c.1751). It was first performed in August 1748 at the Takemoto-za
Takemoto-za
The Takemoto-za was a bunraku theatre in Osaka, founded in 1684] by Takemoto Gidayū. Plays by many famous playwrights were performed there, including works by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Namiki Sōsuke, and Takeda Izumo I...
theatre in the Dōtonbori
Dotonbori
is one of the principal tourist destinations in Osaka, Japan. It is a single street, running alongside the Dōtonbori canal between the Dōtonboribashi Bridge and the Nipponbashi Bridge in the Namba ward of Osaka...
entertainment district in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, and an almost identical kabuki adaptation appeared later that year. The title means "Kana
Kana
Kana are the syllabic Japanese scripts, as opposed to the logographic Chinese characters known in Japan as kanji and the Roman alphabet known as rōmaji...
practice book Treasury of the loyal retainers." The "kana practice book" aspect refers to the coincidence that the number of ronin matches the number of kana, and the play portrayed the ronin as each prominently displaying one kana to identify him. The forty-seven rōnin were the loyal retainers of Asano; the title likened them to a warehouse full of treasure. To avoid censorship, the authors placed the action in the time of the Taiheiki
Taiheiki
The is a Japanese historical epic , written in the late 14th century. It deals primarily with the Nanboku-chō, the period of war between the Northern Court of Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto, and the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in Yoshino....
(a few centuries earlier), changing the names of the principals. The play is performed every year in both the bunraku and kabuki versions, though more often than not it is only a few selected acts which are performed and not the entire work.
Kabuki（歌舞伎）
Ronald Cavaye
Ronald Cavaye is a British pianist, born in England and a resident of the United Kingdom. He is a classical pianist and writer.-Biography:Ronald Cavaye was born in Aldershot, Hampshire, UK. He began to play the piano at the age of 11 and entered the music department of Winchester School of Art at...
, Paul Griffith and Akihiko Senda, published by Kodansha International, Japan:
Kanadehon Chūshingura (“The Treasury of Loyal Retainers”) is based on a true incident which took place between 1701 and 1703. To avoid shogunate censorship, the authors set the play in the earlier Muromachi period (1333-1568) and the names of the characters were altered.
The central story concerns the daimyō Enya Hangan, who is goaded into drawing his sword and striking a senior lord, Kô no Moronō (Note: although the furigana for Moronō's name is Moronao, the pronunciation is Moronō). Drawing one’s sword in the shogun’s palace was a capital offense and so Hangan is ordered to commit seppuku
Seppuku
is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...
, or ritual suicide by disembowelment. The ceremony is carried out with great formality and, with his dying breath, he makes clear to his chief retainer, Ōboshi Yuranosuke, that he wishes to be avenged upon Moronô.
Forty-seven of Hangan’s now masterless samurai or rōnin bide their time. Yuranosuke in particular, appears to give himself over to a life of debauchery in Kyoto’s Gion pleasure quarters in order to put the enemy off their guard. In fact, they make stealthy but meticulous preparations and, in the depths of winter, storm Moronō’s Edo mansion and kill him. Aware, however, that this deed is itself an offense, the retainers then carry Moronō’s head to the grave of their lord at Sengaku-ji temple in Edo, where they all commit seppuku.
Act I, Tsurugaoka kabuto aratame (“The Helmet Selection at Hachiman Shrine”)
This play has a unique opening, in which the curtain is pulled open slowly over several minutes, accompanied by forty-seven individual beats of the ki, one for each of the heroic rōnin. Gradually, the actors are revealed in front of the Hachiman Shrine in Kamakura slumped over like lifeless puppets. As the gidayū narrator speaks the name of each character he comes to life. Lord Moronō’s evil nature is immediately demonstrated by his black robes and the furious mie pose which he strikes when his name is announced. He is hostile to the younger, inexperienced lords. They have all gathered to find and present a special helmet at the shrine and it is Hangan’s wife, Kaoyo, who is the one to identify it. When the ceremony is over and he is eventually left alone with Kaoyo, Moronō propositions her but she rejects his amorous advances.
Act II, The Scriptorium of the Kenchōji Temple
When Act II is performed as Kabuki it is often given in a later version, first performed by Ichikawa Danjūrō VII (1791-1859), and entitled “The Scriptorium of the Kenchōji Temple”. A performance of Act II is extremely rare, even “complete” (tōshi kyōgen) performances almost never include it. The original puppet and Kabuki scripts of Act II are similar and the story is as follows -
The act takes place in the mansion of the young daimyō, Momonoi Wakasanosuke. His chief retainer, Kakogawa Honzō, admonishes the servants for gossiping about the humiliation of their master by Moronō at the previous day’s ceremony at the Tsurugaoka shrine. Even Honzō’s wife, Tonase, and daughter, Konami, speak of it.
Ōboshi Rikiya, Konami’s betrothed and the son of Enya Hangan’s chief retainer, Ōboshi Yuranosuke, arrives with a message that Moronō has commanded that both Hangan and Wakasanosuke appear at the palace by four in the morning in order to prepare the ceremonies for the Shogun’s younger brother whom they are to entertain.
Wakasanosuke hears the message and dismisses them all apart from Honzō. He speaks of the insults which he suffered and his determination to take his revenge. He decides to kill Moronō tomorrow even if such a rash and illegal act brings about the eradication of his household.
Surprisingly, the older and wiser Honzō sympathises with him and, as a symbol that Wakasanosuke should go through with the attack, he cuts off the branch of a bonsai pine tree. It is one o’clock in the morning and Wakasanosuke goes off to bid farewell to his wife for the last time.
As soon as his master leaves Honzō calls urgently for his horse. Forbidding his wife and daughter from disclosing his intentions, he gallops off to Moronō’s mansion to prevent what would be a disaster both for his master and his master’s house.
Act III, scene 2, Matsu no rōka (“The Pine Corridor in the Shogun’s Palace”)
This is the scene which seals Hangan’s fate. Offended by Kaoyo’s rebuff, Moronō hurls insults at Hangan, accusing him of incompetence and of being late for his duties. Hangan, he says, is like a little fish: he is adequate within the safe confines of a well (his own little domain), but put him in the great river (the shogun’s mansion in the capital) and he soon hits his nose against the pillar of a bridge and dies. Unable to bear the insults any longer, Hangan strikes Moronō but, to his eternal chagrin, is restrained from killing him by Wakasanosuke's retainer Kakogawa Honzō.
Act IV, scene 1, Enya yakata no ba (“Enya Hangan’s Seppuku”)
Hangan is ordered to commit seppuku and his castle is confiscated. The emotional highlight of this scene is Hangan’s death. The preparations for the ceremony are elaborate and formal. He must kill himself on two upturned tatami mats which are covered with a white cloth and have small vases of anise placed at the four corners. The details of the seppuku were strictly prescribed: the initial cut is under the left rib-cage, the blade is then drawn to the right and, finally, a small upward cut is made before withdrawing the blade. Hangan delays as long as he can, however, for he is anxious to have one last word with his chief retainer, Yuranosuke. At the last moment, Yuranosuke rushes in to hear his lord’s dying wish to be avenged on Moronô. Hangan is left to despatch himself by cutting his own jugular vein.
Act IV, scene 2, Uramon (“The Rear Gate of the Mansion”)
Night has fallen and Yuranosuke, left alone, bids a sad farewell to their mansion. He holds the bloody dagger with which his lord killed himself and licks it as an oath to carry out his lord’s dying wish. The curtain closes and a lone shamisen player enters to the side of the stage, accompanying Yuranosuke’s desolate exit along the hanamichi.
Interact, Michiyuki tabiji no hanamuko (Ochiudo) (“The Fugitives”)
This michiyuki
Michiyuki
Michiyuki is the term for a journey scene in Japanese theatre, which shows the characters dancing or conversing while travelling.The term michiyuki in its generic sense of michi wo yuku "to go on a road" is used in lyrical descriptions of journeys from the 8th century...
or “travel-dance” was added to the play in 1833 and is very often performed separately. The dance depicts the lovers Okaru and Kanpei journeying to the home of Okaru’s parents in the country after Hangan’s death. Kanpei was the retainer who accompanied Hangan to the shogun’s mansion and he is now guilt ridden at his failure to protect his lord. He would take his own life to atone for his sin, but Okaru persuades him to wait. The couple are waylaid by the comical Sagisaki Bannai and his foolish men. They are working for Lord Moronō but Kanpei easily defeats them and they continue on their way.
Act V, scene 1, Yamazaki kaidō teppō watashi no ba (“The Musket Shots on the Yamazaki Highway”)
While only a peripheral part of the story, these two scenes are very popular because of their fine staging and dramatic action. Kanpei is now living with Okaru’s parents and is desperate to join the vendetta. On a dark, rainy night we see him out hunting wild boar.
Meanwhile, Okaru has agreed that her father, Yoichibei, sell her into prostitution in Kyoto to raise money for the vendetta. On his way home from the Gion pleasure quarter with half the cash as a down payment, Yoichibei is, however, murdered and robbed by Sadakurô, the wicked son of Kudayū, one of Hangan’s retainers. Sadakurō is dressed in a stark black kimono and, though brief, this role is famous for its sinister and blood curdling appeal.
Kanpei shoots at a wild boar but misses. Instead, the shot hits Sadakurō and, as he dies, the blood drips from Sadakurō’s mouth onto his exposed white thigh. Kanpei finds the body but cannot see who it is in the darkness. Hardly believing his luck, he discovers the money on the body, and decides to take it to give to the vendetta.
Act VI, Kanpei seppuku no ba (“Kanpei’s Seppuku”)
Yoichibei’s murder is discovered and Kanpei, believing mistakenly that he is responsible, commits seppuku. The truth, however, is revealed before he draws his last breath and, in his own blood, Kanpei is permitted to add his name to the vendetta list.
Act VII , Gion Ichiriki no ba (“The Ichiriki Teahouse at Gion
Ichiriki Ochaya
The Ichiriki Ochaya is one of the most famous and historic Ochaya in Kyoto, Japan...
”)
This act gives a taste of the bustling atmosphere of the Gion pleasure quarter in Kyoto. Yuranosuke is feigning a life of debauchery at the same teahouse to which Okaru has been indentured. Kudayū, the father of Sadakurō, arrives. He is now working for Moronō and his purpose is to discover whether Yuranosuke still plans revenge or not. He tests Yuranosuke’s resolve by offering him food on the anniversary of their lord’s death when he should be fasting. Yuranosuke is forced to accept. Yuranosuke’s sword – the revered symbol of a samurai – is also found to be covered in rust. It would appear that Yuranosuke has no thoughts of revenge. But still unsure, Kudayū hides under the veranda.
Now believing himself alone, Yuranosuke begins to read a secret letter scroll about preparations for the vendetta. On a higher balcony Okaru comes out to cool herself in the evening breeze and, noticing Yuranosuke close by, she also reads the letter reflected in her mirror. As Yuranosuke unrolls the scroll, Kudayū, too, examines the end which trails below the veranda. Suddenly, one of Okaru’s hairpins drops to the floor and a shocked Yuranosuke quickly rolls up the scroll. Finding the end of the letter torn off, he realises that yet another person knows his secret and he must silence them both. Feigning merriment, he calls Okaru to come down and offers to buy out her contract. He goes off supposedly to fix the deal. Then Okaru’s brother Heiemon enters and, hearing what has just happened, realises that Yuranosuke actually intends to keep her quiet by killing her. He persuades Okaru to let him kill her instead so as to save their honour and she agrees. Overhearing everything, Yuranosuke is now convinced of the pair’s loyalty and stops them. He gives Okaru a sword and, guiding her hand, thrusts it through the floorboards to kill Kudayū.
Act VIII, Michiyuki tabiji no yomeiri (“The Bride’s Journey”)
When Enya Hangan drew his sword against the evil Moronō within the shogun’s palace, it was Kakogawa Honzō who held him back, preventing him from killing the older lord. Honzō’s daughter, Konami, is betrothed to Yuranosuke’s son, Rikiya, but since that fateful event the marriage arrangements have been stalled, causing much embarrassment to the girl. Not prepared to leave things as they are, Honzō’s wife, Tonase, resolves to deliver Konami to Yuranosuke’s home in order to force the marriage.
This act takes the form of a michiyuki dance in which Tonase leads her stepdaughter along the great Tōkaidō Highway, the main thoroughfare linking Edo in the east with Kyoto in the west. On the way, they pass a number of famous sites such as Mt. Fuji and, as a marriage procession passes by, Konami watches enviously, thinking that in better times she herself would have ridden in just such a grand palanquin. Tonase encourages her daughter, telling her of the happiness to come once she is wed.
Set in the depths of winter, Kakogawa Honzō’s wife Tonase, and daughter Konami, arrive at Yuranosuke’s home in Yamashina near Kyoto. Yuranosuke’s wife is adamant that after all that has happened there can be no possibility of marriage between Konami and Rikiya. In despair, Tonase and Konami decide to take their own lives. Just then, Honzō arrives disguised as a wandering priest. To atone for his part in restraining Hangan from killing Moronō, he deliberately pulls Rikiya’s spear into his own stomach and, dying, gives Yuranosuke and Rikiya a plan of Moronō’s mansion in Edo.
Act X, Amakawaya Gihei Uchi no ba - “The House Amakawaya Gihei
Act X is only rarely performed but provides a realistic interim (performed in the sewamono style) between Yuranosuke setting out at the end of Act IX and the final vendetta. The action takes place at the premises of Amakawaya Gihei, a merchant who lives in the port of Sakai, near Osaka. Yuranosuke has entrusted Gihei with the purchase and shipment to Kamakura of all the weapons, armour and other equipment which they will need for the vendetta. Knowing that he may be linked to the vendetta, Gihei has been preparing by dismissing his staff so that they would not be aware of what he was doing. He has even sent his wife, Osono, to her father’s so that she would be out of the way.
The act usually opens with some of the boatmen discussing the loading of the chests and the weather and, as they go off, Gihei’s father-in-law, Ryōchiku, comes, demanding a letter of divorce so that he can marry Osono off to another man. Gihei agrees, thinking that his wife has betrayed him.
After Ryōchiku’s departure, law officers arrive and accuse Gihei of being in league with Hangan’s former retainers. Gihei refuses to allow them to open one of the chests of weapons and armour, even threatening to kill his own son to allay their suspicions. Suddenly Yuranosuke himself appears and confesses that the law officers are, in fact, members of the vendetta and that he sent them to test Gihei’s loyalty. He praises Gihei’s resolution and commitment to their cause.
As they all go off to a back room for a celebratory drink of sake, Gihei’s wife, Osono arrives, wishing both to return the letter of divorce, which she has stolen from her father, and to see their child.
Gihei, however, torn between his love for his wife and his duty to Yuranosuke reluctantly forces her to leave. Shut outside, she is attacked in the dark by two men who steal her hair pins and combs and cut off her hair.
Yuranosuke and his men reappear and, about to depart, place some gifts for Gihei on an open fan. The gifts turn out to be Osono’s shorn hair and ornaments. Yuranosuke had his men attack her and cut her hair to that her father would be unable to marry her off. No one would take a wife with hair as short as a nun’s. In hundred days, he says, her hair will grow back and she can be reconciled with her husband, Gihei. By then, Yuranosuke and his men will also have achieved their goal. Gihei and Osono, overawed by his kindness, offer their deepest thanks. Yuranosuke and his men depart for their ship.
Act XI, Koke uchiiri no ba (“The Attack on Moronô’s Mansion”)
The final act takes place at Moronō’s mansion on a snowy night. The attack is presented in a series of tachimawari fight scenes before Moronō is finally captured and killed.
Films, television dramas, and other productions
December is a popular time for performances of Chūshingura. Because the break-in occurred in December (according to the old calendar), the story is often retold in that month.Films
The history of Chūshingura on film began in 1907, when one act of a kabuki play was released. The first original production followed in 1908. Onoe Matsunosuke played Ōishi in this ground-breaking work.The story was adapted for film again in 1928. This version, Jitsuroku Chushingura
Jitsuroku Chushingura
is a 1928 black and white Japanese silent film with benshi accompaniment directed by Shozo Makino. It was an epic created to commemorate Makino's 50th birthday and is based on the classic theme of Chushingura. Scenes within the film, recognizable to all Japanese, "Great Pine Corridor" and "Raid"...
, was made by film-maker Shōzō Makino to commemorate his 50th birthday. Parts of the original film were destroyed when fire broke out during the production. However, these sequences have been restored with new technology.
A Nikkatsu
Nikkatsu
is a Japanese entertainment company well known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio. The name Nikkatsu is an abbreviation of Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Cinematograph Company".-History:...
film retold the events to audiences in 1930. It featured the famous Ōkōchi Denjirō in the role of Ōishi. Since then, three generations of leading men have starred in the role. Younger actors play Asano, and the role of Aguri, wife (and later widow) of Asano, is reserved for the most beautiful actresses. Kira, who was over sixty at his death, requires an older actor. Ōkōchi reprised the role in 1934. Other actors who have portrayed Ōishi in film include Bandō Tsumasaburō (1938), and Kawarasaki Chōjūrō IV (1941).
In 1941 the Japanese military commissioned director Kenji Mizoguchi
Kenji Mizoguchi
Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His film Ugetsu won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and appeared in the Sight & Sound Critics' Top Ten Poll in 1962 and 1972. Mizoguchi is renowned for his mastery of the long take and mise-en-scène...
(Ugetsu
Ugetsu
Ugetsu is a 1953 Japanese film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. Set in 16th century Japan, it stars Masayuki Mori and Machiko Kyō, and is inspired by short stories by Ueda Akinari and Guy de Maupassant...
) to make The 47 Ronin
The 47 Ronin
is a 1941/1942 black-and-white two-part jidaigeki Japanese film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi.The first part was originally released in Japan just prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The film was directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, and adapted from the play by Seika Mayama...
. They wanted a ferocious morale booster based upon the familiar rekishi geki ("historical drama") of "The Loyal 47 Ronin". Instead, Mizoguchi chose for his source Mayama Chushingura, a cerebral play dealing with the story. The 47 Ronin was a commercial failure, having been released in Japan one week before the Attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
. 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 Part One's lukewarm reception. The film was celebrated by foreign scholars who saw it in Japan; it was not shown in America until the 1970s.
During the occupation of Japan, the GHQ
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following World War II...
banned performances of the story, charging them with promoting feudal values. Under the influence of Faubion Bowers
Faubion Bowers
Faubion Bowers was General Douglas MacArthur's personal Japanese language interpreter and aide-de-camp during the Allied Occupation of Japan. He also was a noted academic in the area of Asian Studies.-Biography:...
, the ban was lifted in 1947. In 1952, the first film portrayal of Ōishi by Chiezō Kataoka
Chiezo Kataoka
was a Japanese actor. Born in 1903 in Gunma Prefecture, he was raised in Tokyo. His first starring role in a film was in 1923. Specializing in jidaigeki, he played the lead in various films before and during World War II. After the war, he eventually joined Toei...
appeared; he took the part again in 1959 and 1961. Matsumoto Kōshirō VIII
Matsumoto Hakuo I
, born , was a Japanese Kabuki actor, regarded as the leading tachiyaku of the postwar decades; he also performed in a number of non-kabuki venues, including Western theatre and films...
(later Hakuō), Ichikawa Utaemon, Ichikawa Ennosuke II, Kinnosuke Yorozuya Ken Takakura
Ken Takakura
, born , is a Japanese actor best known for his brooding style and the stoic presence he brings to his roles.Takakura gained his streetwise swagger and tough-guy persona watching yakuza turf battles over the lucrative black market and racketeering in postwar Fukuoka...
, and Masahiko Tsugawa
Masahiko Tsugawa
, born Masahiko Kato on January 2, 1940 in Kyoto, Japan is a Japanese actor and director.He made his debut at the age of 16 in the Kō Nakahira film Crazed Fruit in 1956. Tsugawa's family was heavily involved in the film industry since before his birth...
are among the most noteworthy actors to portray Ōishi.
The story was told again in the 1962 Toho
Toho
is a Japanese film, theater production, and distribution company. It is headquartered in Yūrakuchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group...
production by the acclaimed director Hiroshi Inagaki
Hiroshi Inagaki
was a Japanese filmmaker most known for the Academy Award-winning Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto, which he directed in 1954.-Career:Born in Tokyo as the son of a shinpa actor, Inagaki appeared on stage in his childhood before joining the Nikkatsu studio as an actor in 1922...
, and titled Chushingura: Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki. The actor Matsumoto Kōshirō
Matsumoto Koshiro
Matsumoto Kōshirō is the stage name of a line of kabuki actors in Japan. Most of these were blood relatives, though some were adopted into the family....
starred as Chamberlain Ōishi Kuranosuke. The actress Setsuko Hara
Setsuko Hara
is a Japanese actress who appeared in six of Yasujirō Ozu's films, most notably as Noriko in the 'Noriko Trilogy': Late Spring , Early Summer and Tokyo Story . Her other films for Ozu were Tokyo Twilight , Late Autumn and finally The End of Summer in 1961.She was born 会田 昌江 Masae Aida in...
retired following her appearance as Riku, wife of Ōishi.
Television dramas
The 1964 NHKNHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
Taiga drama
Taiga drama
is the name NHK gives to the annual, year-long historical fiction television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white Hana no Shōgai, starring kabuki actor Onoe Shōroku and Takarazuka star Awashima Chikage, the network has hired a producer, director, writer, music...
Akō Rōshi was followed by no fewer than 21 television productions of Chūshingura. Toshirō Mifune
Toshiro Mifune
Toshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, from 1948 to 1965, in works such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo...
starred in the 1971 Daichūshingura
Daichushingura
is a television dramatization of the events of the Forty-seven Ronin. The first episode aired on January 5, 1971, and the 52nd and final episode appeared on December 28 of the same year. The NET network broadcast it in the Tuesday evening 9:00–9:56 prime-time slot in Japan.The series featured an...
on NET
TV Asahi
, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
, and Kinnosuke Yorozuya crossed over from film to play the same role in 1979, also on NET. Tōge no Gunzō, the third NHK Taiga drama on the subject, starred Ken Ogata
Ken Ogata
Ken Ogata was a Japanese actor.Ogata was born in Tokyo, Japan. Ogata is well known for his roles in Peter Greenaway's The Pillow Book, Paul Schrader's Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters and Shohei Imamura's The Ballad of Narayama...
, and renowned director Juzo Itami
Juzo Itami
, born , was an actor and a popular modern Japanese film director. Many critics came to regard him as Japan's greatest director since Akira Kurosawa. His 10 movies, all of which he wrote himself, are comic satires on elements of Japanese culture....
appeared as Kira. In 2001 Fuji TV made a four hour special of the story starring Takuya Kimura
Takuya Kimura
, nicknamed , is a Japanese singer and actor. He is also a member of the Japanese idol group SMAP. Most of the TV dramas he starred in produced high ratings in Japan...
as Horibe Yasubei (one of the Akō ronin) and Kōichi Satō
Koichi Sato
is a Japanese actor.He is the son of veteran Japanese actor Rentarō Mikuni.-Films:*The Last Chushingura *Nobody to watch over me * Shonen Merikensack * The Magic Hour * Smile Seiya no Kiseki...
as Ōishi Kuranosuke, called Chūshingura 1/47
Chushingura 1/47
Chushingura 1/47 is a 2001 Japanese historical movie based on the kabuki tale of the Forty-seven Ronin. The film was made for the Fuji TV Network and was directed by Shunsaku Kawamo....
. Kōtarō Satomi
Kotaro Satomi
is a Japanese actor from the city of Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. He appears in both contemporary and jidaigeki roles.-Selected filmography:Satomi has appeared in over 130 films...
, Matsumoto Kōshirō IX
Matsumoto Koshiro IX
is a Japanese kabuki actor, one of the most popular tachiyaku currently performing.Like many members of the kabuki community, he can trace his lineage back several generations, many members of his family being kabuki actors as well...
, Beat Takeshi
Takeshi Kitano
is a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...
, Tatsuya Nakadai
Tatsuya Nakadai
is a Japanese leading film actor.He became a star after he was discovered working as a Tokyo shop clerk by filmmaker Masaki Kobayashi during the early 1950s...
, Hiroki Matsukata
Hiroki Matsukata
, real name is a Japanese actor. He is the son of jidaigeki actor Jūshirō Konoe and actress Yaeko Mizukawa and has a younger brother Yūki Meguro who is also an actor....
, Kinya Kitaōji, Akira Emoto, Akira Nakao
Akira Nakao
is a Japanese actor and personality from Kisarazu, Chiba, Japan. He graduated from Chiba Prefectural Kisarazu High School and attended Musashino Art University. Nakao is a member of the Furutachi Project agency....
, Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII, Ken Matsudaira
Ken Matsudaira
is a Japanese actor from Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan. His real name is Sueshichi Suzuki .- Career :Active both in television and on stage, he also sings. Matsudaira is most widely known for jidaigeki roles, having made his debut with Shintaro Katsu in an episode of the television series Zatoichi...
, and Shinichi Tsutsumi
Shinichi Tsutsumi
is a Japanese stage and screen actor. He won the Japanese Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2005 for Always Sanchōme no Yūhi.-Profile:*Place of Birth: Nishinomiya, Hyōgo, Japan*Talent Agency: Siscompany-Movies:* Suspect X...
are among the many stars to play Ōishi. Hisaya Morishige
Hisaya Morishige
was a Japanese actor and comedian. Born in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, he graduated from what was known under the old education system as Kitano Middle School , and subsequently attended Waseda University. He began his career as a stage actor, then became an announcer for NHK, working in Manchuria...
, Naoto Takenaka
Naoto Takenaka
is a Japanese actor, comedian, singer, and director from Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture affiliated with From First Production. He is married to idol singer and actress Midori Kinouchi.-Director:*Munō no Hito *119...
, and others have portrayed Kira. Izumi Inamori
Izumi Inamori
is a Japanese actress signed to Burning Production.-Biography:Izumi Inamori was born and grew up in the city of Kagoshima. After graduating from the local high school, Inamori went to University of Texas at Arlington to study English abroad...
starred as Aguri (Yōzeiin), the central character in the ten-hour 2007 special Chūshingura Yōzeiin no Inbō.
The 1927 novel by Jirō Osaragi
Jiro Osaragi
was the pen-name of a popular Japanese writer in Shōwa period Japan, known primarily for his historical fiction novels, which appeared serialized in newspapers and magazines. His real name was .-Early life:Osaragi Jirō was born in Yokohama...
was the basis for the 1964 Taiga drama Akō Rōshi. Eiji Yoshikawa
Eiji Yoshikawa
was a Japanese historical novelist, probably one of the best and most famous authors in the genre. Among his most well-known novels, most are revisions of past works. He was mainly influenced by classics such as The Tale of the Heike, Tale of Genji, Outlaws of the Marsh, and Romance of the Three...
, Seiichi Funahashi, Futaro Yamada
Futaro Yamada
was the pen name of , a Japanese author.He was born in Yabu, Hyogo.In 1947, he wrote a mystery novel and was awarded a prize by a novel magazine .He was discovered by Edogawa Rampo and became a novelist....
, Kōhei Tsuka, and Shōichirō Ikemiya have also published novels on the subject. Maruya Saiichi
Maruya Saiichi
is a Japanese author and literary critic.-Biography:Maruya was mobilized into the Japanese Army in 1945 when still a high-school student. After the war's end, he completed his high school studies in Niigata, then in 1947 entered the University of Tokyo to major in English literature. There he...
, Motohiko Izawa, and Kazuo Kumada have written criticisms of it.
Ballet
The ballet choreographer Maurice BéjartMaurice Béjart
Maurice Béjart was a French born, Swiss choreographer who ran the Béjart Ballet Lausanne in Switzerland. He was the son of the French philosopher Gaston Berger.- Biography :...
created a ballet work called "The Kabuki" based on the Chushingura legend in 1986, and it has been performed more than 140 times in 14 nations world wide by 2006.
Popular music
"Chushingura" is the name of a song by Jefferson AirplaneJefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
from its Crown of Creation
Crown of Creation
-Personnel:*Marty Balin – vocals, rhythm guitar*Grace Slick – vocals, piano, organ*Paul Kantner – rhythm guitar, vocals*Jorma Kaukonen – lead guitar, electric chicken, vocals*Spencer Dryden – drums, piano, organ, steel balls, vocals...
album.