Akō, Hyōgo

During the Edo period, Akō was a capital of Akō han. Akō was a small han of 50,000 koku but rich thanks to salt production. Akō salt is famous for its high quality. Among the former daimyō of Akō was Asano Naganori, the master of the forty-seven rōnin. In memory of the forty-seven ronin, who finally accomplished the vengeance against Kira Yoshihisa for their master after hardship on January 30, 1703 (December 14, Genroku 15), the city has held a festival (gish-sai) on December 14, every year in the last hundred years. On the day of the festival, all the elementary and middle schools in the city are off, and the students and pupils are encouraged to participate in one of the sports and art competitions including those in kendo, judo, and shodō, or one of the parades, including the one re-enacting the victory of the forty-seven rōnin and another one exhibiting the cultural features of the Edo period, such as sankin-kotai.

Akō's castle, originally built by the grandfather of Asano Naganori, Naganao, stands in the center of the city today.

The city is bordered with the following cities and towns:

• Aioi city
• Kamigōri town
• Bizen city, Okayama Prefecture
• Himeji city (sea border)

Chikusa river goes through the center of the city, providing the moat of Akō Castle with water through a branch, Kariya river. The central part of the city around the castle has been built on the alluvial plain of Chikusa river.

The city is on the border of the Hyōgo and Okayama prefectures, which also divides the Kinki and Chūgoku areas. On each side of the border, ancient Harima and Bizen provinces, which are now Akō and Bizen cities, respectively (except for the former village of Fukukawa, now part of Akō but formerly belonging to Bizen Province), have cultivated their own cultures. Therefore, even at the present days, dialects are vastly different on the sides of the border. A traveller from west to east on the JR San'yō Main Line will notice that the dialect of passengers suddenly changes between Kamigori station in Hyogo prefecture and Mitsuishi station in Okayama prefecture. In Akō, people speak a type of the Kansai dialect whose intonation is however of the Tokyo type. The superset of the dialect spoken in Akō, called Banshu-ben, is known as one of the harshest-sounding dialects.

• The Akō Board of Education operates public elementary and middle schools.
• Akō High School is operated by Hyōgo Prefectural Board of Education.
• Kansai University of Social Welfare was founded in 1997 and has been operated by Kansai Konko Educational foundation.

• Akō Tabuchi Memorial Museum of Art (赤穂市立 田淵記念館) has on display a remarkable "Cha no yu (茶の湯)" exhibit.
• Akō City Museum of History (赤穂市立歴史博物館) built at the site of former rice granary collects, investigates, and exhibits historical materials related to the city of Akō, especially through the forty-seven rōnin and salt production.

• Akō Kaihin Koen (赤穂海浜公園) located on the east bank of the Chikusa river at its junction with Setonaikai is a complex of a facility which offers an experience of old-style salt production, camping sites, tennis courts, play grounds, ponds where rental boats are available, and a small zoo.

• Shiomi Manjū is a Japanese sweet. The outside shell is a little salty while the inside made of azuki paste is very sweet. It goes very well with (strong/bitter) green tea or coffee.

• Rockingham, Western Australia, Australia

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Ako.

• Media related to Akō, Hyōgo at Wikimedia Commons
• Akō City official website (in Japanese)
• Akō City official website
• Akō Tabuchi Memorial Museum of Art official website (in Japanese)