24 April 1659 – 20 March 1703 was the chamberlain ('' karō'') of the Akō Domain in Harima Province (now

Hyōgo Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to th ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

(1679 - 1701). He is known as the leader of the

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

in their 1703 vendetta and thus the hero of the '' Chūshingura''. He is often referred to by his pseudonym ('' kemyō''), .

Biography

He served ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' Asano Naganori as the head chamberlain () for the Akō estate, supervising the daily running of the castle and the samurai. Due to the Tokugawa rules which required all the ''daimyō'' to spend every other year in Edo (now called Tokyo) the chamberlain was a very important man and the ''de facto'' ruler of the estate when the ''daimyō'' was away from his home province. Having attained this office at a rather young age, he is said to have had the implicit trust of his lord. When Asano committed

seppuku , also known as , is a form of Japanese ritualistic suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honor, but was also practiced by other Japanese people during the Shōwa era (particularly officers near ...

as punishment for his failed attempt to kill

Kira Yoshinaka (October 5, 1641 – January 30, 1703) was a Japanese ''kōke'' (master of ceremonies). His court title was ''Kokushi (officials), Kōzuke no suke (上野介)''. He is famous as the adversary of Asano Naganori in the events of the forty-seven ...

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 th ...

and the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

abolished the house of Asano of Akō, Ōishi was in Akō and managed all its administrative issues. He persuaded other samurai to peacefully yield control of the castle to the agents of the Shogunate. During the next two years many people wondered what Ōishi would do as he had a reputation as an honourable and capable man. He attempted to get the permission to re-establish the house of Asano of Akō but failed. He then began a careful plot to kill Lord Kira, but to throw off suspicion, first spent time (and money) in the

geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha{{efn, {{IPAc-en, lang, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ., ʃ, ə, {{IPA, ja, ɡei.ɕa, ɡeː-, lang{{cite book, script-title=ja:NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典, publisher=NHK Publishing, editor= ...

houses of

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

. This type of ruse is referred to as – appearing to be serving no useful purposes, and this term is frequently applied to Ōishi. He carried out his role well – and secretly coordinated the movements of the remaining loyal Asano samurai. Nearly two years passed before the attack was launched. In January 1703 (by the old

Japanese calendar Japanese calendar types have included a range of official and unofficial systems. At present, Japan uses the Gregorian calendar together with year designations stating the Japanese era name, year of the reign of the current Emperor. The written f ...

, the 12th month, 14th day) he, with 46 other Akō

rōnin In feudal Japan to early modern Japan (1185–1868), a ''rōnin'' ( ; , , 'drifter' or 'wandering man', ) was a samurai who had no lord or master and in some cases, had also severed all links with his family or clan. A samurai became a ''rō ...

, attacked Kira at his residence in the Honjo neighborhood of Edo. Kira was killed and decapitated. After Ōishi dispatched Terasaka Kichiemon to inform Asano's widow Yōzeiin of the deed, he and the remaining 45 rōnin went to Sengaku-ji in

Shinagawa is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The Ward refers to itself as Shinagawa City in English. The Ward is home to ten embassies. , the Ward had an estimated population of 380,293 and a population density of 16,510 persons per ...

where Naganori was buried and there they were arrested. He and the other rōnin were ordered to commit

. Since it was an honourable sentence rather than merely decapitation, everyone accepted this sentence as an honour. File:NDL-DC 1312927-Tsukioka Yoshitoshi-皇国二十四功大石内蔵之助-crd.jpg,

Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock printing, woodblock prints and Nikuhitsu-ga, paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes ...

showing Ōishi signaling an attack by beating a drum. By

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (; also named Taiso Yoshitoshi ; 30 April 1839 – 9 June 1892) was a Japanese printmaker.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005)"Tsukoka Kōgyō"in ''Japan Encyclopedia,'' p. 1000. Yoshitoshi ha ...

. File:Oishi Yoshio Gishi Seppuku No Zu Painting.png, Painting of Ōishi Yoshio committing

Legacy

After death, Ōishi became famous as the example of ideal samurai behavior. His ultimate goal of reestablishment of the Akō Asano clan was realized as the Tokugawa shogunate did restore some lands (about 1/10 of the original holdings) to the Asano clan. In the famous

kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...

play ''Kanadehon Chūshingura'', Yoshio (Kuranosuke) is known as Ōboshi Yuranosuke. OishiKuranosuke5.JPG, Statue of Ōishi Yoshio at Sengaku-ji in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Oishi Kuranosuke statue.JPG, Statue of Ōishi Yoshio in a

Shinto shrine A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...

Ako Oishi jinja ( ja) in

Akō, Hyōgo is a Cities of Japan, city located in southwestern Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 45,747 in 20,563 households and a population density of 360 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography A ...

141206 Oishi-jinja Ako Hyogo pref Japan20bs.jpg, and () owned by Ōishi Yoshio. Ako Oishi jinja

References

External links

*The 1941 movie ''The 47 Ronin'' features Ōishi Yoshio as the protagonist, se
YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oishi, Yoshio Samurai 1659 births 1703 deaths Suicides by seppuku Karō Place of birth unknown Date of birth unknown Deified Japanese men Kabuki characters