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Chushingura Summary

Chushingura is the name for the Ako Incident, a real event from the Genroku era of Edo-period Japan, together with the many plays and stories it inspired. On the 14th day of the third month of Genroku 14 (1701), in the Pine Corridor (Matsu no Roka) of Edo Castle, Lord Asano Takumi-no-Kami, ruler of the Ako domain in Harima Province, drew his sword and attacked Lord Kira Kozuke-no-Suke, a high-ranking master of ceremonies for the shogunate. Asano was ordered to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) that same day, and the Asano house of Ako was abolished. Kira, however, went unpunished.

Express palanquin riders carried the news to Ako, where Oishi Kuranosuke, the domain's chief retainer, held the samurai together and handed over the castle without a fight. He then moved to Yamashina near Kyoto and worked to restore the house under Asano Daigaku, his late lord's younger brother. Mocked as a “daytime lantern” (a useless dullard) for his carousing, he also kept holding back the hard-liners in Edo, led by Horibe Yasubei, who wanted to strike at once.

In the seventh month of Genroku 15 (1702), Asano Daigaku was placed in the custody of the main Asano family in Hiroshima, and all hope of restoration vanished. At the Maruyama Conference, Oishi decided on the attack, and he handed back the members' signed oaths so that only the truly committed would remain. The ronin (masterless samurai) hid in Edo and spied on Kira's mansion, and on the night of the 14th day of the twelfth month of Genroku 15, with snow still on the ground, they stormed his residence in Honjo and killed him. After offering his head at their lord's grave at Sengakuji Temple, the ronin were placed in the custody of four daimyo houses, and in the second month of the following year they committed seppuku. This manga tells the story of those roughly two years, while keeping the recorded history separate from the later play Kanadehon Chushingura and from popular legend.

Read from Episode 1 (free)

Story summary

  1. Episode 1He Drew His Sword. No One Ever Knew Why — The Pine Corridor Incident

    In the mangaEdo 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.

    In the original mythThe story of the 47 Ronin, known in Japan as Chushingura ("the treasury of loyal retainers"), begins with a single violent moment inside Edo Castle, the seat of the Tokugawa shogun. On the 14th day of the Third Month of 1701 (around April 21 on today's calendar), the shogun was due to give his formal reply to envoys sent by the Emperor in Kyoto. It was one of the most solemn ceremonies of the year.

  2. Episode 2385 Miles to Deliver the Worst News — Lord Asano's Seppuku and the Express Palanquin

    In the mangaOn 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.

    In the original mythThe tale of the 47 Ronin, known in Japan as Chushingura, begins with a single act of violence. On the 14th day of the third month of Genroku 14 (April 21, 1701), Asano Naganori, the lord of the small Ako domain, drew his short sword inside Edo Castle, the shogun's seat of power. His target was Kira Yoshinaka, a senior court-ritual official. At the time, Asano had been assigned to host envoys sent by the imperial…

  3. Episode 3An Army at the Gate. Orders: Don't Fight. — The Surrender of Ako Castle

    In the mangaEpisode 3 of the series. Their lord is dead and his house abolished, and the retainers of Ako Castle are split between fighting and dying. Oishi Kuranosuke decides that now is not the time to draw swords. A senior retainer slips away, the domain's paper money is about to become worthless, and hotheads ride in from Edo. Through all of it, Oishi hands over the castle without spilling a single drop of blood.

    In the original mythThe story of the 47 Ronin begins with a single act of violence. On the 14th day of the third month of 1701 (the 14th year of the Genroku era), Asano Takumi-no-kami, the lord of the Ako domain in western Japan, drew his sword inside Edo Castle, the shogun's seat of power, and wounded a senior court official, Kira Kozukenosuke. Drawing a blade in the castle was a grave crime. Asano was ordered to commit seppuku…

  4. Episode 4His Lord Is Dead. He Parties Every Night. — Oishi Kuranosuke, "The Daytime Lantern"

    In the mangaEpisode 4 of the 47 Ronin series. His lord is dead and his house abolished, yet chief retainer Oishi Kuranosuke Yoshio still hopes the clan can be restored. Meanwhile he spends every night in the pleasure quarters, and the townsfolk and his own comrades all laugh at him. For one moment, in the shadows behind the party lights, he shows a stone-cold sober look. Was it an act, or the real man? Dawn comes with no answer.

    In the original mythThe story of the 47 Ronin begins in the spring of 1701. Asano Takumi-no-kami, the lord of the Ako domain, drew his sword on a senior official, Kira Kozukenosuke, inside Edo Castle. Drawing a blade in the shogun's castle was a grave crime. Asano was ordered to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) that same day, and his house was abolished. Kira survived. Hundreds of Asano's retainers suddenly became ronin, samurai with…

  5. Episode 5He Was Late Once. He Won't Wait Again — Horibe Yasubei and the Duel at Takadanobaba

    In the mangaYears ago, the swordsman Horibe Yasubei arrived too late to save the man who raised him in a duel. Now he pushes Oishi, the chief retainer who keeps telling everyone to wait, to strike Kira down as soon as possible. When Kira moves house and retires, Yasubei sees his chance. He storms into Yamashina, and in front of Oishi, his hand goes to his sword.

    In the original mythChushingura, the tale of the 47 Ronin, is Japan's most famous story of loyalty and revenge. In the third month of 1701, Asano Takumi no Kami, the lord of the Ako domain, drew his sword on the court official Kira Kozukenosuke inside Edo Castle. Asano was ordered to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) that same day. His domain was abolished, and Kira received no punishment at all. Hundreds of Asano's retainers suddenly…

  6. Episode 6The 48th Ronin Who Should Have Been There — Kayano Sanpei

    In the mangaSanpei, one of the riders who carried word of their lord's death, returns to his home village. There he is trapped between his vow to his comrades and his duty to his father, who has promised him to the family that once gave Sanpei his start. He tries to slip away and can't. The episode follows him to the morning of his lord's monthly memorial day, when he leaves behind a single haiku, and then to how his story lived on in the theater.

    In the original mythThe tale of the 47 Ronin (Chushingura) is usually told through the men who stormed the mansion of Kira Kozukenosuke, the court official their lord had attacked. Kayano Sanpei Shigezane is famous for the opposite reason. He swore to join the revenge, yet he was not there when it happened. That is why this episode calls him “the 48th Ronin who should have been there.”

  7. Episode 7Take Back Your Oath, and Walk Away Alive — The Maruyama Conference and the Returned Oaths

    In the mangaThe last hope of restoring their late lord's house is gone, and in Maruyama, Kyoto, Oishi decides to strike down Lord Kira. First, though, he hands back the sworn oaths. Some comrades accept theirs and leave. Others throw them back and stay. Terasaka, the foot soldier who carried the box of oaths for the two messengers, is finally handed the last sheet: his own.

    In the original mythIn 1701, Lord Asano Naganori of the Ako domain was ordered to commit seppuku after drawing his sword on Kira Yoshinaka (often called Lord Kira, a senior shogunate official) inside Edo Castle. His domain was taken away, and his samurai became ronin, masterless warriors. For more than a year afterward, their leader, Oishi Kuranosuke, pushed for one goal above all: getting the shogunate to let the Asano house continue…

  8. Episode 8He Learned Tea to Steal a Single Date — The Ronin in Hiding & Ōtaka Gengo

    In the mangaTo protect his family, Oishi divorces his wife Riku, and the Ako ronin slip into Edo disguised as townsfolk. Otaka Gengo becomes a pupil of tea master Yamada Sohen and learns the day Kira will host a tea gathering at his mansion. Without a word, the ronin begin saying their goodbyes.

    In the original mythThe tale of the 47 Ronin, known in Japan as Chushingura, begins in 1701. In the shogun's castle in Edo (old Tokyo), Asano Takumi-no-kami, the lord of Ako domain, drew his sword and attacked Kira Kozukenosuke, a senior court-etiquette official. Why he did it is still unknown; the sources never explain it. Asano was ordered to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) that same day, his domain was abolished, and Kira went…

  9. Episode 9We Broke In. His Bed Was Still Warm. — The Raid on Kira's Mansion

    In the mangaOn a snowy night in the twelfth month of Genroku 15, the ronin, after nearly two years of patient waiting, gather in Honjo. Before dawn they storm Kira's mansion from two sides, the front gate and the back gate. They show every courtesy to the neighbors and watch a young retainer die defending his lord. But when they burst into the bedchamber, all they find is a bed that is still warm.

    In the original mythThe tale of the 47 Ronin, known in Japan as Chushingura, begins in the spring of 1701 (Genroku 14). Inside Edo Castle, the seat of the shogun's government, Asano Takumi-no-Kami, the lord of the Ako domain, drew his sword and attacked Kira Kozukenosuke, a senior court-etiquette official. Drawing a blade in the castle was a grave crime. Asano was ordered to take his own life that same day, and his domain was…

  10. Episode 10Their Enemy Was Shivering in the Dark — The Raid on Kira's Mansion

    In the mangaDawn 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.

    In the original mythThe tale known in Japan as Chushingura is based on a real event, often called the Ako Incident. In 1701, Asano Takumi-no-Kami, the young lord of the Ako domain, drew his sword on Kira Kozuke-no-Suke Yoshinaka inside Edo Castle, in a corridor remembered as the Pine Corridor (Matsu no Roka). Kira was a koke, an official in charge of ceremony and etiquette for the shogun's government. Asano was ordered to commit…

  11. Episode 11They Had the Head. They Didn't Run. — The March to Sengaku-ji

    In the mangaThe raid is over. With the head of their enemy, Lord Kira, raised on a spear, the ronin march through the snowy streets of Edo to the grave of their late lord. Along the way, one foot soldier, a dried persimmon from a comrade tucked in his robe, quietly slips out of the line. At the grave, Oishi weeps for the first time.

    In the original mythMost retellings of the 47 Ronin (Ako Roshi, the masterless samurai of the Ako domain) end with the night raid on Lord Kira's mansion. In the historical sources, though, one of the most moving parts of the story comes next. Before dawn on the 15th day of the 12th month of Genroku 15 (January 30, 1703), the ronin killed Kira Kozukenosuke Yoshinaka, the court official they blamed for their lord's death. The raid is…

  12. Episode 1247 Ronin. Only 46 Graves. — The Seppuku of the 47 Ronin and Sengaku-ji

    In the mangaAfter the raid, the forty-six ronin are placed in the custody of four daimyo houses. At the Hosokawa mansion, Horiuchi Den'emon listens to their stories and is eventually entrusted with a letter from Oishi Kuranosuke to his son Chikara. On a spring day the verdict arrives: seppuku. At the graves of Sengaku-ji, the aged storyteller Terasaka Kichiemon finishes his tale, and the story passes on to the stage as the curtain rises on Kanadehon Chushingura.

    In the original mythOn the night of the 14th day of the 12th month of Genroku 15 (late January 1703 in the Western calendar), the former retainers of the Ako domain broke into the Edo mansion of Kira Kozukenosuke and took revenge for their late lord, Asano Takumi-no-kami. The famous story is called the 47 Ronin, yet only forty-six of them turned themselves in to the shogunate. The next day they were summoned to the residence of a…