#sengaku-ji

[postcard-from-the-past]

Sengaku-ji Temple in Minato, Tokyo, Japan

Japanese vintage postcard

[nihonnokeshiki]

Tokyo

Ringi-en Koishiakawa Kourakuen Sengaku-ji (Gräber der "47 Loyalen")

[meowzone]

Visited Sengaku-ji temple, burial site of the 47 samurai that took part in the Akou Jiken AKA the 47 ronin. This tale has inspired several movies. I talked to a monk there who happened to live for many years in the town I live in now. Crazy!

[jadedinjapanworld]

Bronze statue of Oishi Kuranosuke, the leader of the Akō Gishi (the 47 loyal retainers of Lord Asano)

A bronze statue of Oishi Kuranosuke, the leader of the Akō Gishi (the 47 loyal retainers of Lord Asano) who led the attack on Kira's residence, at Sengakuji (泉岳寺), near Shinagawa Station in Tokyo, pictured while holding a scroll with the names of the 47 rōnin upon it.

[jadedinjapanworld]

Tombs of the 47 Rōnin

The Tombs of (some of) the 47 Rōnin at Sengaku-ji (near Shinagawa Station in Tokyo), in front of the tomb of their master, where they still can be visited today.

The tale of the 47 Rōnin is one of the most famous historical stories of Japan and has been adapted in countless creative works, including numeerous well known films and kabuki plays. The story is also known as the "Ako Incident" (赤穂事件, ako jiken) or "Ako Vendetta."As the story goes, 47 samurai were serving their daimyō (feudal lord) Asano Naganori, but when he was unjustly condemned, stripped of all his riches and forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide), they were suddenly left without leader and thus became ronin (samurai without a master). While there are various reasons behind the forced suicide, they all seem to link back to the arrogant attitude of a powerful official called Kira Kozuke-no-Suke Yoshinaka, who was supposed to instruct Asano about court etiquette. The story claims that Kira became angered by Asano when he refused to offer him bribes (in some other versions, he considered the gifts offered to him to compensate his instruction were considered insufficient). Kira kept treating Asano harshly and one day, when the latter got called "country boor with no manners" by the former, Asano assaulted Kira with a dagger and mutilated his face. While Kira's wound was not serious, the attack happened in Edo Castle, were violence was completely forbidden, and for this offense, Asano was sentenced to death by seppuku. While Asano had around 300 men under his command, 47 of them—led by Oishi Kuranosuke—refused to let the incident go unavenged, even knowing that they would be punished if they acted in any way against Kira. Since they knew Kira was highly guarded and would be suspicious of them, they dispersed and for two years pretended to be regular people, such as tradesmen or monks, or even homeless drunkards. When Kira eventually let his guard down, the samurai gathered and attacked his mansion, killing him and cutting off his head.After the incident, most of the 47 rōnin were also obliged to commit seppuku. They were buried on the grounds of the Buddhist temple known as Sengaku-ji (near Shinagawa Station in Tokyo), in front of the tomb of their master, where they still can be visited today. The temple also includes a museum, called "Akogishi Kinenkan," where you can see the armor and weapons the rōnin wore to the attack. These were mostly handmade as buying them would have raised suspicions. There are also some interesting statues at the temple, including a bronze one dedicated to leader Oishi Kuranosuke, pictured while holding a scroll with the names of the 47 rōnin, and 47 mannequins dedicated to each one of the rōnin (on the second floor of the museum).

[tokyo-monogatari]

Entrance to Sengaku-ji, final resting place of the 47 ronins. (Tokyo)

[lemprisedessens]

Odeur indescriptible • Sengaku-ji, Takanawa, Tokyo

[lemprisedessens]

Avant le combat • Sengaku-ji, Takanawa, Tokyo