Who Is Kajikawa Yosobei Yoritaru (Kajikawa Yoriteru)?
Eyewitness in the Pine Corridor
Kajikawa Yosobei Yoriteru
Kajikawa Yosobei was the hatamoto (shogunate retainer) who saw the sword attack in the Pine Corridor of Edo Castle with his own eyes and grabbed Lord Asano Takumi-no-Kami from behind to stop him.
At the moment of the attack, Kajikawa was standing and talking with Lord Kira Kozuke-no-Suke about arrangements for the gifts to the imperial envoys. He wrote that Asano then called out, “Do you remember my grudge from the other day?” and struck. His record, the Kajikawa-shi Hikki, is a valuable source written by someone who saw the event firsthand.
In the play Kanadehon Chushingura, the one who holds back Hangan (Asano) is the retainer Kakogawa Honzo, who fills the role that corresponds to Kajikawa.
Episodes featuring this character3
NEWEpisode 1
He Drew His Sword. No One Ever Knew WhyThe Pine Corridor Incident
Edo Castle, the 14th day of the Third Month, 1701. Lord Asano is already strained by the great duty of hosting the Emperor's envoys. In the Pine Corridor he suddenly draws his blade on Lord Kira, the master of ceremonies who has been tutoring him in the ritual. Kajikawa happens to be standing there and grabs him from behind, and the blow falls short. Asano tells no one why he did it.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 2
385 Miles to Deliver the Worst NewsLord Asano's Seppuku and the Express Palanquin
On the very day he drew his sword inside Edo Castle, Lord Asano is ordered to commit seppuku, and he meets his end with quiet dignity. Meanwhile, Hayami and Kayano tie themselves into an express palanquin and race some 620 km to Ako in four and a half days. When Oishi Kuranosuke finally hears all of the news, he says only two words.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 10
Their Enemy Was Shivering in the DarkThe Raid on Kira's Mansion
Dawn is closing in, and Lord Kira Kozuke-no-Suke Yoshinaka is still nowhere to be found. In a dark charcoal shed behind the kitchen, the ronin find only a frail old man in a white nightrobe, trembling. When the hunt that lasted a year and nine months finally ends, nobody cheers. There are only quiet tears.
19 pages