Chūshingura

Ukiyo-e print by Utagawa Kuniteru depicting the assault of Asano Naganori on Kira Yoshinaka in the Matsu no Ōrōka of Edo Castle in 1701, an incident that triggered the tragedy of the Forty-seven rōnin

The historical basis for the narrative begins in 1701. The ruling shōgun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi placed Asano Takumi-no-kami Naganori, the daimyō 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 an insult may have provoked him. For this act, he was sentenced to commit seppuku, but Kira did not receive any punishment. The shogunate confiscated Asano's lands (the Akō Domain) and dismissed the samurai who had served him, making them rōnin.

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 rōnin (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 at Sengaku-ji. They then 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).[1][2]

In 1822, the earliest known account of the Akō incident in the West was published in Isaac Titsingh's posthumous book, Illustrations of Japan.[3]

In the story of the 47 rōnin, the concept of chūshin gishi is another interpretation taken by some. Chūshin gishi is usually translated as "loyal and dutiful samurai". However, as John Allen Tucker[4] points out that definition glosses over the religious meaning behind the term. Scholars during that time used that word to describe people who had given their lives for a greater cause in such a way that they deserved veneration after death. Such people were often entombed or memorialized at shrines.

However, there is a debate on whether they even should be worshiped and how controversial their tombs at Sengakuji are. Tucker raises a point in his article that the rōnin were condemned as rōnin, which was not an honorable state, but in the end their resting places are now honored. In other words, it is as if those that regarded the rōnin as chūshin gishi were questioning the decision of the Bakufu (the shogunate, the authorities who declared them rōnin), and perhaps even implying that the Bakufu had made a mistake. Those recognizing the rōnin as chūshin gishi were really focusing on the basics of samurai code where loyalty to your master is the ultimate and most sacred obligation.

In Chinese philosophy, Confucius used to say that the great ministers served their rulers the moral way. Early Confucianism emphasized loyalty, the moral way and objection and legitimate execution of wrongdoers. Chūshin gishi is interpreted as almost a blind loyalty to your master. In the Book of Rites, something similar to chūshin gishi is mentioned which is called zhongchen yishi. Interpretations of the passage from the Book identified those who would sacrifice themselves in the name of duty should live on idealized. However, there were also those such as Ogyū Sorai, that agreed on condemnation of the rōnin as criminals. Sorai, Satō Naokata, and Dazai Shundai were some of those who believed that the rōnin were just criminals and murderers with no sense of righteousness, since they did violate the law by killing Kira Yoshinaka. So definitely there was controversy revolving around the legitimacy of the rōnins' actions.

Confucianism and the deification of the rōnins collision is something that is very important to the way to understanding Bakufu law. Confucian classics and the Bakufu law may have seemed to complement each other to allow revenge. Hayashi Hōkō claims that the idolization of the rōnin may have been allowed because their actions matched with the Chinese loyalists. Also suggesting that only by killing themselves would they be able to claim their title as chūshin gishi. Hokō summarized that there might have been a correlation between the law and the lessons put forth in Confucian classics.

Actually during the seventeenth century there was a system of registered vendettas. This meant that people could avenge a murder of a relative, but only after their plans strictly adhered to legal guidelines. However, the Akō vendetta did not adhere to this legalized system. Thus, they had to look to Confucian texts to justify their vendetta. Chūshin gishi is something that cannot be looked on lightly in regards to this story because it is the main idea in this story. Loyalty and duty to one's master as a retainer is everything in the story of the 47 rōnin.

Being able to draw Confucianist values from this story is no coincidence, it is said that Asano was a Confucian. So it would only seem natural that his retainers would practice the same thing. Their ultimate sacrifice for their master is something that is held in high regard in Confucianism because they are fulfilling their responsibility to the fullest extent. There is nothing more after that kind of sacrifice. At that point the warriors have given their everything to their master. That type of devotion is hard to contest as something other than being a chūshin gishi.

The puppet play based on these events was entitled Kanadehon Chūshingura and written by Takeda Izumo (1691–1756),[5] Miyoshi Shōraku (c. 1696 – 1772)[6] and Namiki Senryū (1695 – c. 1751).[7] It was first performed in August 1748 at the Takemoto-za theater 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 rōnin matches the number of kana, and the play portrayed the rōnin 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.

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  Utagawa Kuniyoshi, The Monster's Chūshingura (Bakemono Chūshingura), ca. 1836, Princeton University Art Museum, Acts 9–11 of the Kanadehon Chūshingura with act nine at top right, act ten at bottom right, act eleven, scene 1, at top left, act eleven, scene 2 at bottom left
• 
  Utagawa Kuniyoshi, The Monster's Chūshingura (Bakemono Chūshingura), ca. 1836, Princeton University Art Museum, Acts 5–8 of the Kanadehon Chūshingura with act five at top right, act six at bottom right, act seven at top left, act eight at bottom left
• 
  Utagawa Kuniyoshi, The Monster's Chūshingura (Bakemono Chūshingura), ca. 1836, Princeton University Art Museum, Acts 1–4 of the Kanadehon Chūshingura with act one at top right, act two at bottom right, act three at top left, act four at bottom left

This Toyokuni print depicts the actor Onoe Eisaburō I in the role of Hayano Kanpei.

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. However some names sounded similar and those with knowledge knew what they were referring to in reality. For example, the real person Ōishi Kuranosuke was changed to Ōboshi Yuranosuke. The play therefore fuses fiction and fact.

The central story concerns the daimyō En'ya Hangan, who is goaded into drawing his sword and striking a senior lord, Kō no Moronō (Note: although the furigana for Moronō's name is Moronao, the pronunciation is Moronō). Drawing one's sword in the shōgun'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 Moronō.

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 En'ya 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 shōgun'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 Shōgun'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 shōgun'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, En'ya yakata no ba ("En'ya 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. He is dressed in the shini-shōzoku, the white kimono worn for death. 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 Moronō. Hangan is left to despatch himself by cutting his own jugular vein.

This act is a tosan-ba, or "do not enter or leave" scene, which means the audience was not allowed to enter or leave while it was played, the atmosphere had to be completely silent and nothing was allowed to disturb the suicide scene.

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 shōgun'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 Sadakurō, 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 honor 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.

The main actor has to convey a wide variety of emotions between a fallen, drunkard rōnin and someone who in reality is quite different since he is only faking his weakness. This is called hara-gei or "belly acting", which means he has to perform from within to change characters. It is technically difficult to perform and takes a long time to learn, but once mastered the audience takes up on the actor's emotion.

Emotions are also expressed through the colors of the costumes, a key element in kabuki. Gaudy and strong colors can convey foolish or joyful emotions, whereas severe or muted colors convey seriousness and focus.

Act VIII, Michiyuki tabiji no yomeiri ("The Bride’s Journey")

When Enya Hangan drew his sword against the evil Moronō within the shōgun'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) by Andō Hiroshige

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, armor 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 armor, 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 so 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.

The mansion raid in Act XI (woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi)

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 play became very popular and was depicted in many ukiyo-e prints. A large number of them are in the collection of the Waseda University Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum.[8]

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.

• Chūshingura: Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki
• Matsu no Ōrōka

Bibliography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ukiyo-e of the Forty-seven Ronin.

• Brandon, James R. "Myth and Reality: A Story of Kabuki during American Censorship, 1945–1949", Asian Theatre Journal, Volume 23, Number 1, Spring 2006, pp. 1–110.
• Chūshingura (in Japanese) retrieved January 6, 2006
• Cavaye, Ronald, Paul Griffith and Akihiko Senda. (2005). A Guide to the Japanese Stage. Tokyo: Kodansha International. ISBN 978-4-7700-2987-4
• 新井政義（編集者）『日本史事典』。東京：旺文社 1987 (p. 87)
• Takeuchi, Rizō（編）『日本史小辞典』。東京：Kadokawa Shoten 1985, pp. 349–350.
• Chushingura at IMDB
• Forbes, Andrew ; Henley, David (2012). Forty-Seven Ronin: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi Edition. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN: B00ADQGLB8
• Forbes, Andrew ; Henley, David (2012). Forty-Seven Ronin: Utagawa Kuniyoshi Edition. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN: B00ADQM8II
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• Postel, Philippe (2019), Les Vaillants d'Akô. Le mythe des quarante-sept rônins au Japon et en Occident. Paris: Classiques Garnier, "Perspectives comparatistes", 81. ISBN 978-2-406-07273-7. Postel, Philippe (2017), Les Quarante-sept rônin. Histoire d'un mythe en estampes. Nantes: Editions du château des ducs de Bretagne. ISBN 978-2-906519-64-0.