The Treasury of Loyal Retainers (Kanadehon Chushingura)

Takeda Izumo, Miyoshi Shoraku and Namiki Senryu · 1748

Overview

A puppet play in eleven acts, soon staged in kabuki as well. Wary of the shogunate, it moves the Ako incident of the Genroku era into the world of the Taiheiki in the Muromachi period, presenting Asano Takumi-no-kami as En'ya Hangan, Kira Kozuke-no-suke as Ko no Moronao, and Oishi Kuranosuke as Oboshi Yuranosuke. From the sword attack in the palace, Hangan's suicide and the surrender of the castle, the tragedy of Hayano Kanpei and Okaru, Yuranosuke's revels at the Ichiriki teahouse in Gion and the sacrifice of Kakogawa Honzo's family, to the raid, it tells the story through the eyes of many characters.

Background

In 1701, in the Pine Corridor of Edo Castle, Asano Naganori, lord of Ako, slashed at Kira Yoshinaka and was ordered to commit seppuku that same day. In the twelfth month of the following year, forty-seven of his former retainers raided Kira's mansion and were later ordered to commit seppuku. The incident soon became material for the stage, but plays about contemporary samurai under their real names were not allowed. Written by three collaborators including Takeda Izumo forty-seven years after the incident, this play became the culmination of all the earlier Chushingura plays. "Kanadehon," "copybook of kana," likens the forty-seven ronin to the forty-seven letters of the iroha syllabary.

Highlights

  1. Hangan's seppukuHangan cuts his belly while longing for Yuranosuke to arrive. After the castle is surrendered, Yuranosuke stays alone before the gate, gazing at his lord's dagger.Read “Hangan's Seppuku” →
  2. The Ichiriki teahouseYuranosuke hides his true aim of revenge and plays the wastrel. A game of truth and lies involving an enemy spy, Okaru and her brother Heiemon.Read “The Ichiriki Teahouse in Gion” →
  3. The Yamashina retreatThe families of a betrothed couple find themselves on opposite sides, and Honzo deliberately takes a spear to make his daughter's wedding possible.Read “The Yamashina Retreat” →
  4. The raidOn a snowy night, the grand finale in which they fulfill their goal.Read “The Raid on Moronao's Mansion” →