, nicknamed was a Japanese

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

, a

hatamoto A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as ''gokenin.'' However ...

guard of

Edo Castle is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo and is therefore also known as . Tokugawa Ieyasu established the ...

, who gained his fame by killing the unpopular ''

wakadoshiyori The ', or "Junior Elders", were high government officials in the Edo period Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1867). The position was established around 1633, but appointments were irregular until 1662. The four to six ''wakadoshiyori'' we ...

'' in March 1784 in the castle.

History

On March 24th, 1784, in Edo castle, Sano shouted three times "remember", to Tanuma Okitomo and cut him with a ''

wakizashi The is one of the traditionally made Japanese swords (''nihontō'') worn by the samurai in feudal Japan. History and use The production of swords in Japan is divided into specific time periods:

''. Tanuma died of his wounds eight days later, and Sano was condemned to commit

seppuku , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

. The Sano clan was punished, but as Sano was the only male heir to the clan, the estate of the family went back to the father. The exact motive of Sano remains unclear and there are several competing theories, but the shogunate put his actions on a moment of madness. Sano's tomb is in Tokuhonji, near Asakusa.

Post-death celebration

Tanuma and his father,

Tanuma Okitsugu (September 11, 1719, in Edo, Japan – August 25, 1788, in Edo) was a chamberlain (''sobashū'') and a senior counselor (''rōjū'') to the ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Ieharu of the Tokugawa Shogunate, in the Edo period of Japan. Tanuma and his s ...

, were unpopular; furthermore, the country had just been through a famine caused by the Mount Asama eruption, and coincidently just after the killing, the price of rice started to fall. This sudden shift was put on Sano's actions, who was deified as . Tokuhonji became a site for his celebration. The campus of Otsuka Women's University in Sanbanchō is on the site of his residence, which is marked by a touristic sign.

Reference

1757 births 1784 deaths Samurai Executed Japanese people {{Samurai-stub