Ako Incident

Japanese: 赤穂事件 - あこうじけん

In the middle of the night on December 14, 1702 (Genroku 15), 46 men, including Oishi Kuranosuke Yoshio, a former samurai of the Ako Domain, broke into the residence of Kira Kozukenosuke Yoshinaka in Matsuzaka-cho, Honjo, Edo, and took Yoshinaka's head, thus avenging the death of the former lord of the domain, Asano Takumi-no-kami Naganori (→ Asano Naganori). The Edo Shogunate would send a memorial envoy to the Imperial Court at the beginning of the year every year, and the Imperial Court would send a memorial envoy to Edo in March. In 1701, the lord of Ako Domain, Asano Naganori, was appointed as one of the shogunate's guests for the imperial envoy's visit to the Shogunate, and as usual, the high-ranking Kira Yoshinaka was in charge of instructing him on the ceremonies and manners for entertaining the envoy. However, infuriated by the unkind treatment he received, on March 14 of that year, just before the envoy's arrival, Asano Naganori attacked Kira Yoshinaka in Edo Castle with his sword. He was ordered to commit seppuku at the residence of Tamura Ukyo-no-dayu on the same day, and his land was confiscated. All the Ako Domain samurai became ronin (masterless samurai) and dispersed, but some of the former samurai, led by the former castle lord's chief retainer Oishi Yoshio, made a secret pact to avenge the enemy of the late lord Asano Naganori, and after waiting for over a year, they decided to attack Kira Yoshinaka. The ronin who took the head of Kira Yoshinaka and achieved their revenge reported this at the grave of their former master at Sengakuji Temple in Takanawa, Shiba, Edo, and were immediately taken into the custody of the four families of Hosokawa, Matsudaira, Mori, and Mizuno. Not only was it difficult for the bakufu to decide what to do with the ronin, but it became the biggest debate of the Edo period, involving everyone from the shogun to the common people, over whether their actions were loyal or criminal. Hayashi Daigakuto Nobuatsu and Muro Kyusu argued that the ronin were righteous, based on the idea that revenge was righteous, and Ise Sadatake also developed a human feelings theory that supported this righteousness, but Sato Naokata and others opposed this argument, and the opinions of the leading scholars of the time were divided. Ogyu Sorai viewed this incident as loyalty in private opinion and criminality in public opinion, and criticized the theory that they were righteous and loyal retainers, saying that "if private opinion harms public opinion," "the law of the world will not be able to stand in the future." The shogunate followed this opinion, and the ronin committed seppuku on February 2, the following year, and were buried next to the grave of their former master at Sengaku-ji Temple. This was the end of the Ako incident, but it appealed greatly to the feelings of all walks of life, especially the common people, who considered these ronin to be loyal retainers. Many screenplays and novels based on this incident were written afterwards, and it has remained a beloved work of the people to this day, known as "Chushingura." (→Ako Gishi, Genroku Chushingura)

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

元禄 15 (1702) 年 12月 14日夜半，旧赤穂藩士大石内蔵助良雄以下 46人が，江戸本所松坂町の吉良上野介義央の邸内に乱入，義央の首級をあげて，旧藩主浅野内匠頭長矩 (→浅野長矩 ) の仇をはらした事件。江戸幕府は毎年，朝廷に対し年頭に礼使を送り，朝廷はこれに対する答礼の勅使を3月に江戸に差遣することが例であった。元禄 14年の勅使下向の際の幕府供応馳走役の一人として赤穂藩主浅野長矩が命じられ，勅使供応に関する礼式，作法などの指導は例年どおり高家吉良義央があたったが，その不親切な取扱いに立腹した浅野長矩は，同年3月 14日，勅使到着を目前にして江戸城中において吉良義央に刃傷に及び，即日田村右京大夫邸にて切腹を命じられ，その所領も没収された。赤穂藩士は，すべて牢人 (浪人) となって離散したが，旧城代家老大石良雄を中心とする旧藩士の一部は，亡主浅野長矩の怨敵を討つべく密約を結び，1年有余の待機ののちに吉良義央を襲うという挙に出た。吉良義央の首級をあげ復讐をとげた浪士らは，江戸芝高輪泉岳寺の旧主の墓前にこれを報告したが，のちただちに細川，松平，毛利，水野の4家に身柄を預けられた。浪士らの処分については，幕閣において容易に決らなかったのみならず，その挙を忠義とするか，罪とするかをめぐって，上は将軍から下は庶民までをも巻込んで，江戸時代最大の論争となった。林大学頭信篤や室鳩巣らは復讐を義とする考えから彼らを義人とみて立論し，さらに伊勢貞丈もこれを義とする人情論を展開したが，一方佐藤直方らはこの論に反対するなど，当代一流の学者の意見も甲論乙駁の体であった。荻生徂徠は，この事件を，私論では忠義，公論では罪人とみて，「もし私論をもって公論を害せば」今後「天下の法は立つべからず」としてその義人，義士論を批判した。幕府もこの意見に従い，浪士らは，翌 16年2月2日，切腹し，泉岳寺内の旧主の墓側に葬られた。赤穂事件はこれによって落着したが，これら浪士を義士とする社会の各層，とりわけ庶民の人情に訴えたところは大きく，この事件を題材とした脚本，小説の類はその後数多く作られ，「忠臣蔵」として民衆に愛好されて今日にいたっている。 (→赤穂義士 ,　元禄忠臣蔵 )

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