Background to the Story of the 47 Ronin

Background to the Story of the 47 Ronin

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Background to the Story of the 47 Ronin: During the Tokugawa era in Japanese history, the country was ruled by the shogun, or highest military official, in the name of the emperor. Under him were a number of regional lords, the daimyo, each of whom employed a contingent of samurai warriors. All of these military elites were expected to follow the code of bushido – the “way of the warrior. ” Among the demands of bushido were loyalty to one’s master, and fearlessness in the face of death.

The story known as “Chushingura” is based on a real historical incident that took place in 1701, in which forty-seven loyal samurai revenged the death of their lord. The story has become famous in Japan through countless plays, movies, and novels. Ronin’ (a ronin – literally “wave man”) – is a masterless samurai. The Tale of the 47 Ronin: In 1701, the emperor Higashiyama sent imperial envoys from his seat at Kyoto to the shogun’s court at Edo (Tokyo). A high shogunate official, Kira Yoshinaka, served as master of ceremonies for the visit.

Two young daimyo, Asano Naganori of Ako and Kamei Sama of Tsumano, were in the capital performing their alternate attendance duties, so the shogunate gave them the task of looking after the emperor’s envoys. Kira was assigned to train the daimyo in court etiquette. Asano and Kamei offered gifts to Kira, but the official considered them totally inadequate and was furious. He began to treat the two daimyo with contempt. Kamei was so angry about the humiliating treatment he wanted to kill Kira, but Asano preached patience.

Fearful for their lord, Kamei’s retainers secretly paid Kira a large sum of money, and the official began to treat Kamei better. He continued to torment Asano, however, until the young daimyo could not endure it. When Kira called Asano a “country bumpkin without manners” in the main hall, Asano drew his sword and attacked the official. Kira suffered only a shallow wound to his head, but shogunate law strictly forbade anyone from drawing a sword within Edo castle. The 34-year old Asano was ordered to commit seppuku.

After Asano’s death, the shogunate confiscated his domain, leaving his family impoverished and his samurai reduced to the status of ronin. Ordinarily, samurai were expected to follow their master into death rather than facing the dishonor of being a masterless samurai. Forty-seven of Asano’s 320 warriors, however, decided to remain alive and seek revenge. Led by Oishi Yoshio, the 47 Ronin swore a secret oath to kill Kira at any cost. Fearful of just such an event, Kira fortified his home and posted a large number of guards. The Ako ronin bided their time, waiting for Kira’s vigilance to relax.

To help put Kira off his guard, the ronin scattered to different domains, taking menial jobs as merchants or laborers. One of them married into the family that had built Kira’s mansion, so that he could have access to the blueprints. Oishi himself began to drink and spend heavily on prostitutes, doing a very convincing imitation of an utterly debased man. When a samurai from Satsuma recognized

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the drunk Oishi laying in the street, he mocked him and kicked him in the face, a mark of complete contempt. Oishi divorced his wife and sent her and their younger children away, to protect them. His oldest son chose to stay.

As snow sifted down on the evening of December 14, 1702, the forty-seven ronin met once more at Honjo, near Edo, prepared for their attack. One young ronin was assigned to go to Aso and tell their tale. The forty-six first warned Kira’s neighbors of their intentions, then surrounded the official’s house armed with ladders, battering rams and swords. Silently, some of the ronin scaled the walls of Kira’s mansion, then overpowered and tied up the startled night watchmen. At the drummer’s signal, the ronin attacked from the front and rear. Kira’s samurai were caught asleep, and rushed out to fight shoeless in the snow.

Kira himself, wearing only undergarments, ran to hide in a storage shed. The ronin searched the house for an hour, finally discovering the official cowering in the shed amongst heaps of coal. Recognizing him by the scar on his head left by Asano’s blow, Oishi dropped to his knees and offered Kira the same wakizashi (short sword) that Asano had used to commit seppuku. He soon realized that Kira did not have the courage to kill himself honorably, however – the official showed no inclination to take the sword, and was shaking in terror. Oishi beheaded Kira. The ronin reassembled in the mansion’s courtyard. All forty-six were alive.

They had killed as many as forty of Kira’s samurai, at the cost of only four walking wounded. At daybreak, the ronin walked through town to the Sengakuji Temple, where their lord was buried. The story of their revenge spread through town quickly, and crowds gathered to cheer them along the way. Oishi rinsed the blood from Kira’s head, and presented it at Asano’s grave. The forty-six ronin then sat and waited to be arrested. Hoping for a last-minute reprieve, the four daimyo who had custody of the ronin waited until nightfall, but there would be no pardon. The forty-six ronin, including Oishi and his 16-year-old son, committed seppuku.

The ronin were buried near their master at the Sengkuji Temple in Tokyo. Their graves instantly became a site of pilgrimage for admiring Japanese. One of the first people to visit was the samurai from Satsuma who had kicked Oishi in the street. He apologized, and then killed himself as well. HORATIUS AT THE BRIDGE In the year 509 BC, Rome threw out its last king, an Etruscan by the name of Tarquinius Superbus. For years the city of Rome had been dominated by the stronger and more advanced Etruscans. Disgusted by their lack of freedom the Romans evicted their king, soon after establishing themselves as a republic.

Tarquinius ran to the Etruscan king Lars Porsena, who quickly swore that he would right the wrong that had been committed against his colleague. Gathering a large army of 90,000 men he advanced upon Rome, which was protected by the Servian wall

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on the east back of the Tiber River. The wall itself formed a rough half circle, the two ends of the structure ending at different points along the bank of the river. The one weak point was the Sublicius Bridge, which connected the two shores of the Tiber. Porsena intended to capture this bridge and storm across into Rome.

As he approached with his host, the Roman people panicked, gathered up their possessions and fled into the city. With only slight opposition Porsena took over the Janiculum side of the Tiber and began to advance on the bridge. The leaders of Rome decided that the bridge must come down, but would they have enough time to complete the task before the Etruscan army reached it? A guard was stationed on the Janiculum side of the Sublicius Bridge, commanded by a young man named Horatius. His small contingent of guards was all that stood between the Etruscans and the hordes of refugees in the city.

Horatius ordered his men to stand fast, then turned and yelled at the men on the far side to get on with dismantling the bridge. Porsena’s army was large, far more than Horatius and his men could ever hope to hold back. The fierce Etruscan warriors, helmets adorned with horsehair crests, marched closer, their spears appearing like a forest against the sky. According to a poem from roughly a century after the event, Horatius said: “To every man upon this earth Death cometh soon or late. And how can man die better Then facing fearful odds, For the ashes of his fathers,

And the temples of his gods…? ” Despite this most of his men ran, fearing for their lives. As his men fled Horatius stood his ground at the end of the bridge, his shield held up in front of him, his spear lightly gripped in his hand, ready to thrust. He called after them, “Don’t run! You will only have to fight them later in the city! How much better to fight them here? ” Two men stopped, Spurius Lartius and Titus Herminius, two noble men of the city, the sight of Horatius standing alone at the end of the bridge staring down an army too much for their consciences. “We will stand with you! they called, running to his side, Spurius on his right, Titus on his left. These three closed ranks at the entrance to the bridge, lowering their spears towards the Etruscans who advanced closer. Behind them the citizens of Rome, including the Consul, took up tools to bring down the wooden bridge. Seeing this, Porsena marshaled his forces, sending three champions of his own against the three Romans lead by Horatius. As the warriors approached the Romans, the army laughed at the quick work that would be made of the stupid trio. But the three Etruscans were cut to pieces, one even being thrown into the Tiber during the skirmish.

Again three Etruscans approached, darting their weapons in to strike the Romans. Horatius turned the blow of his adversary with his shield then drove his sword into the man’s heart.

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The two with him also felled their attackers. Meanwhile the citizens hacked furiously at the bridge, ripping up planks, cutting supports, even lighting the bridge on fire in places. The Etruscans edged closer, not in small groups but the army now, their champion Lord Astur of Luna at their head. He charged at Horatius with a long sword, swinging for the Roman’s head.

Somehow Horatius managed to deflect the stroke, which missed his head but laid-open his thigh. Cheering, the Etruscans watched as Horatius recoiled, bleeding, away from his opponent. Suddenly as Astur moved in to finish him, Horatius lunged forward and drove his sword straight into the face of the Etruscan, the blade protruding out the back of his head. After seven tugs he managed to pull the blade free of the fallen Astur’s head. Swinging the red sword around his head he called to the Etruscans: “And see. the welcome, Fair guests, that waits you here! What noble Lucomo comes next To taste our Roman cheer? “

Barely 40 feet away, the Etruscan army shook its weapons at the three men in frustration. None were brave enough to charge against Horatius and his companions. All the while the Romans tore at the bridge, dismantling it plank by plank, knowing their lives depended on it, for Horatius and his men could not hold out forever. For a while the Etruscans stood staring at the three Romans, bloodied but with fire in their eyes. Every now and then one would have the courage to jump forward, but the sight of the hacked bodies lying at the feet of Horatius, Spurius, and Titus drove all thoughts of fighting them from his head.

Suddenly the men taking down the bridge cried “Come back! The bridge is almost down! ” Horatius turned to Spurius and Titus, saying “Go, run! ” The two dashed across, expecting Horatius to follow, but as their feet pounded on the remaining beams of the bridge they fell into the Tiber. They reached the east bank, turned and saw Horatius had stayed, wounded, alone on the far bank to guard their escape, one man against an army of 90,000. The Etruscans awoke from their reluctant trance, realizing they faced one man and that the bridge was almost their’s.

He fought furiously as several Etruscan approached the bridge, throwing their slashed bodies to the ground. On the east side his companions prepared to come to his aid, but before they could run back to help him, Spurius and Titus watched as the bridge collapsed into the Tiber. The Etruscans roared in anger and frustration, for Horatius had prevented them from reaching Rome. In fury they threw their javelins and spears at him. Using his shield Horatius managed to stop most of the missiles, but one hit him in his eye, gouging it out. More hit him, so that he bled greatly.

As the Etruscans closed, Horatius staggered towards the bank, dropping his shield, sheathing his sword. Just before the Etruscans were upon him, he cried out “Oh, Tiber! Father Tiber! To whom the Romans pray, A Roman’s life, a Roman’s arms, Take

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thou in charge this day! ” With that he dived head first into the powerful current of the Tiber, wearing full armor and badly wounded. Infuriated the Etruscans shot at him with their bows and hurled javelins after him, but he was not hurt. As he swam the top of his crest sank underneath the water.

The Etruscans lowered their weapons and the citizens of Rome watched in suspense. All was quiet on both banks of the river, for how could anyone hope to swim the wide river in full armor? Suddenly Horatius broke the surface far out in the middle of the stream, the crest of his helmet soaked and limp, but still jet black. On the Roman side of the river a roar shook the ground as the citizens cheered Horatius as he swam the last little way to shore. Even on the Etruscan side the army could not help to cheer for though they had lost they were astonished by his bravery and skill.

Willing hands grasped Horatius as he reached the shallows and carried him, weak and in pain, up the bank. Porsena turned his army and returned to his city, having lost the only way he could get into Rome. Meanwhile Horatius was cured of his wounds and was given the name Cocles or One-Eyed, and a huge statue of him was raised on the Comitium Plain. In gratitude the people of Rome offered all the land he could plow in one day. Assignment: Read both articles and offer a 1 page typed analysis of the values that the Japanese Samurai and the Romans had regarding warfare. Anything common between two? (double-spaced, thoughtful, due Jan. 9)

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