THE 47 RONIN KJN Patricio Saavedra

The 47 Ronin

by KJN Patricio Saavedra

The 47 Ronin One of the places I wanted to visit in Japan was the tomb of the 47 Ronin. I had seen the Keanu Reeves movie that had a lot of fantasy in it, and that motivated me to find out if this story was true or just fiction. The story is one of national legend in Japan. According to the story, the events happened approximately between 1701 and 1703, and it is one of the most famous legends that exemplifies the code of honor, the Bushido. The story goes that a group of Samurai became Ronin, which means a Samurai without a master. Asano Naganori, who was the Daimyo of this group of Samurai, was forced to commit seppuku (which is the suicide ritual), for having attacked Kira Yoshihisa who was a high government official. Once their Daimyo died, this group of Samurai, now Ronin, devised a plan to avenge his death, and the plan was to kill Kira Yoshihisa. They had to wait a year and a half to complete their plan, and only 47 of them arrived to carry out the plan. They raided Kira's house and murdered him and took his head to the Sengaku temple, where their lord was buried. After presenting him in front of their lord's tomb, they prayed and then presented themselves to the authorities who sentenced their lord to commit seppuku. This story quickly grew throughout Japan, with the people admiring the loyalty, sacrifice, and perseverance of these loyal vassals. It was normal that if a Samurai lost his Daimyo he would look for another to serve. For this the legend of the 47 Ronin was born, the unlimited loyalty of these Ronin. Currently the tomb of the 47 Ronin is in the Sengaku-Ji temple, which is a Buddhist temple that belongs to the Buddhist School of Soto Zen. It was there I went with my son, Fabian, to pay respect to these loyal Ronin. Until next time.