Forty-seven Ronin

The tale of the Forty-Seven Ronin (also known as the Forty-Seven Samurai, the Ak? vendetta, or in Japanese as the "ak? r?shi" (???? Ak? Masterless Samurai)?or the "genroku ak? jiken" (?????? Genroku Ak? Incident)) is a prototypical Japanese story. Described by one noted Japan scholar as the country's "national legend" http://www.columbia.edu/~hds2/chushinguranew/kanadehon/Index.htm, it recounts the most famous case involving the samurai code of honor, bushido, and vividly expresses a significant part of the traditional Japanese world-view.

Related Topics:
Japan - Samurai - Bushido

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The story tells of a group of samurai who were left leaderless (became ronin) after their master was forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) for assaulting a court official who had insulted him. They avenged him by killing the court official after patiently waiting and planning for over a year. In turn, they were themselves forced to commit seppuku for committing the crime of murder, as they had known they would be—the tale being about the honorable fulfillment of duty, especially to an honorable leader.

Related Topics:
Ronin - Seppuku - Murder - Honor - Duty

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