Kanadehon-Chushingura-Stage-3-Utagawa-Kuniteru

was the ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominal ...

'' of the

Akō Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Harima Province in what is now the southwestern portion of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered around Akō Castle, which is located in what is now ...

in Japan (1675–1701). His title was ''Takumi no Kami'' (). He is known as the person who triggered a series of incidents retold in a story known as ''

Chūshingura is the title given to fictionalized accounts in Japanese literature, theater, and film that relate to the historical incident involving the forty-seven ''rōnin'' and their mission to avenge the death of their master, Asano Naganori. Including th ...

'' (involving the

forty-seven rōnin The revenge of the , also known as the or Akō vendetta, is a historical event in Japan in which a band of ''rōnin'' (lordless samurai) avenged the death of their master on 31 January 1703. The incident has since become legendary. It is on ...

), one of the favourite themes of

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is though ...

, jōruri, and Japanese books and films.

Biography

He was born in Edo as the eldest son of Asano Nagatomo. His family was a branch of the

Asano clan The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan, and the Emperor Seiwa (850-881), the 56th Emperor of Japan. The Main Lineage (''sōke'', 宗家) were Lords (daimyō) of the Hiroshima Domain in Aki Province and another f ...

whose main lineage was in Hiroshima. His grandfather Naganao was appointed to the position of ''

'' of Ako with 50 thousand '' koku''. After Naganao died in 1671, Nagatomo succeeded to the position, but died after three years in 1675. Naganori succeeded his father at the age of nine. In 1680, he was appointed to the office of ''Takumi no Kami'', the head of carpentry at the imperial court, but this office was nominal, as were other offices granted to samurai at that time, and only had an honorific meaning. As a ''daimyō'' with a small fief, he was appointed several times to temporary minor offices of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. In 1683, he was first appointed one of two officials to host the emissaries from the imperial court to the Shogunate. It was the first time he met

Kira Yoshinaka was a ''kōke'' (master of ceremonies). His court title was '' Kōzuke no suke (上野介)''. He is famous as the adversary of Asano Naganori in the events of the Forty-seven rōnin. Although his name (義央) has been long pronounced as "Yoshi ...

, the highest-ranking '' kōke'', the head of ceremonial matters at the Shogunate, who instructed officials in the manner of hosting noble guests from Kyoto. In 1694, he suffered from a serious illness. He had no children, thus no heir at that time. When a daimyo died without a determined heir, his house would be abolished by the shogunate, and his lands confiscated; his retainers became ''

rōnin A ''rōnin'' ( ; ja, 浪人, , meaning 'drifter' or 'wanderer') was a samurai without a lord or master during the feudal period of Japan (1185–1868). A samurai became masterless upon the death of his master or after the loss of his master ...

''. To prevent this, he adopted his younger brother Asano Nagahiro, titled Daigaku, who was accepted as his heir by the shogunate. In 1701, he was appointed for the second time to the same office. It is said that he was then on bad terms with Kira Yoshinaka, and tension between them increased. On the day of his death, he drew his sword and attempted to kill Kira in the Corridor of the Pines at Edo Castle in what is now

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. He was wounded and failed to kill Kira. On the same day, the fifth Tokugawa shōgun Tsunayoshi sentenced him to commit seppuku, which he did after writing his

death poem The death poem is a genre of poetry that developed in the literary traditions of East Asian cultures—most prominently in Japan as well as certain periods of Chinese history and Joseon Korea. They tend to offer a reflection on death—both in g ...

Death and legacy

He was buried in the graveyard of

Sengaku-ji is a Buddhist temple belonging to the Sōtō school of Japanese Zen located in the Takanawa neighborhood of Minato-ku, near Sengakuji Station and Shinagawa Station, Tokyo, Japan. It was one of the three major Sōtō temples in Edo during t ...

. His retainers became ronin when the Shogunate confiscated his fief. Under the leadership of

Ōishi Kuranosuke Oishi may refer to: * Ōishi (surname), a Japanese surname * Oishi (Philippine brand), a snack company from the Philippines * Oishi Group, a Thai food-and-drink company * Ōishi Station is a railway station on the Hanshin Electric Railway Mai ...

, however, they avenged the death of their lord by killing Kira at his mansion in Edo on December 15, 1702. These former retainers became famous as the forty-seven ''rōnin'', and their vendetta ranks as one of the most renowned in Japan.

External links

" Asano Naganori"
at the SamuraiWiki {{DEFAULTSORT:Asano, Naganori 1667 births 1701 deaths Asano clan Daimyo Suicides by seppuku Forced suicides Bushido Deified Japanese people People from Tokyo

Biography

Death and legacy

Further reading

External links