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The 47 Ronin Attacked Kira’s Mansion on this day, January 30, 1703

On the night of Tuesday January 30, 1703, (14th day of the 12th month by the old Japanese calendar, and the date by which the event is still remembered in Japan) the men of Ako stormed the mansion of Kira Yoshinaka, killing the 62-year-old Chief of Protocol. Having cut off the man’s head, they carried it about 14 km through the streets of Edo to the grave of their former master, Lord Asano, at the Sengaku-ji, a temple in the southern districts of Edo. Then having paid their respects before the grave, they turned themselves in to the authorities.

The story began in 1701, when the Lord of Ako, Asano Nagamori, attacked the Chief of Protocol, Lord Kira within the grounds of Edo Castle, for which he was ordered to commit seppuku. Asano’s lands at Ako (now part of Hyogo Prefecture) were confiscated, and his over 300 samurai were forced to disband. 47 of those samurai re-grouped 2 years later to extract revenge on Lord Kira, taking his head. Incidentally, none of the men who would become members of the loyal 47 were in Edo at the time of the incident that led to Lord Asanao's death, they were all in Ako, far from the incident.

Much of what is “known” about the incident is based on re-worked stories written for Bunraku puppet and kabuki plays 50 years after the actual event, and many of the inaccuracies and much of the re-worked story has become considered "fact". The truth of the matter has been buried under the popular story.
Lord Kira was not the villain he is often portrayed as, in fact, he was considered a wise and able ruler of his domain, and a highly trusted vassal of the sh**un. He often acted as an envoy to the Imperial Court in Kyoto on direct behalf of the sh**un. Even to this day, Kira is seen as a hero by the people of Kira-cho in Aichi Prefecture. The stories of Lord Kira having baited Lord Asano with insults and having expected bribes are unfounded. It would not have reflected well on Lord Kira had the ceremonies Lord Asano was expected to participate in, not gone to plan. A man of Lord Kira’s statue would not have expected bribes, as doing his proper duty was considered paramount. Kira’s given name was not really Yoshinaka, but Yoshihisa.

The men of Ako took vengeance on Lord Kira without really knowing the reason for Asano’s death. As mentioned, none of them were present at the time of Asano's original attack, nor were they present for his subsequent seppuku. Asano was known to have been a mentally unstable individual, prone to fits of anger. It has been recorded that he had killed a few of his own retainers over trivial matters. In fact, at the time of Asano's initial attack on Lord Kira, the two had had words within the halls of Edo Castle, but had parted. Asano had returned to his quarters in a rage, and then once again left his quarters seeking Lord Kira. It was not a spur of the moment attack.

Unlike the popular story, there was no snowfall on night of the attack. On the site of Kira's mansion in Tokyo, where the Ronin attacked, is a small shrine dedicated to those who were killed in the incident.

Despite the popular story and the truth being similar in some ways, different in other details, it is still a story of courage, and an ode to the way of the samurai.

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