| Bulletin 17 - part 2 |
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The Forty Seven Ronins - E.J.Harrison THE FORTY-SEVEN RONINS By E. J. HARRISON The intelligent reader will understand that 'Ronins' is the anglicized plural of the original Japanese word Ronin which remains unchanged in both numbers. It means literally, as explained by the late Lord Redesdale in his classic ‘Tales of Old Japan ‘, a 'waveman' - one who is tossed about hither and thither as a wave of the sea. It was in feudal days used to designate persons of gentle blood, entitled to bear arms and who, having become separated from their feudal lords by their own act, or by dismissal, or by fate, wandered about the country in the capacity of somewhat disreputable knights-errant without ostensible means of living, in some cases offering themselves for hire to new masters, in others supporting themselves by pillage. Sometimes too it would happen that for political reasons a man became a Ronin in order that his lord might not be implicated in some deed of blood in which he was about to engage. I hasten to add that those spacious and dangerous days are now no more, perchance at the expense of the stuff whereof many a frumpet-tongued song and colourful tale of derring-do are compounded but indubitably to the advantage of the population increment resulting from reduced bills of mortality in the vital statistics, more specifically in the column recording violent and sudden deaths. The epic of the immortal Forty-Seven Ronins (Shi-ju-shichi Shi) or more succinctly and popularly ‘Chushingura literally ‘Storehouse of Loyalty ‘, belongs to the former category. And soon after my arrival in Japan from California as a very young man avid for fresh experiences and the absorption of local colour at every pore I followed native example and paid a pilgrimage to the hallowed spot where the forty-seven heroes lie buried. This is in the picturesque and cryptomeria-shaded grounds of the Buddhist temple of Sengakuji, about one mile from the Shiba temples in the direction of Shinagawa near Tokyo. The popular reverence for these paladins is attested by the incense perpetually kept burning before the leader’s grave and by the visiting cards continually left there. The well (Kubi-arai ido) where the Ronins washed the head of the foe on whom they had taken vengeance still exists by the side of the path leading to the tombs on the ‘right side of a small square court.
The events which these tombs commemorate took place at the beginning of ‘the eighteenth century. Two daimyos, one Asano Takumi no Kami, Lord of the castle of Ako in the province of Harima, and the other Kamei Sama, were appointed to receive and feast an Imperial ambassador or envoy from the court of the then Mikado in Kyoto to the Shogun in Yedo, as Tokyo was then styled, and a high official named Kira Kotsuke no Suke was assigned to teach them the proper ceremonies to be observed upon the occasion. But this Kotsuke no Suke was an avaricious man, and being dissatisfied with the presents which the two daimyos, according to time-honoured custom, had brought him in return for his instruction, conceived a great hatred against them and so instead of teaching them rather sought to hold them up to ridicule. Kamei Sama became violently incensed and resolved to kill Kotsuke no Suke, but was saved from’ an act which would inevitably have caused his own death and the ruin of his house by the tact of his councillor who hit upon the plan of secretly sending a munificent gift of money to Kotsuke no Suke on the eve of the next day’s lesson. The result was that Kotsuke no Suke welcomed the vengeful nobleman with open arms and thus unwittingly induced him to renounce his intention of killing him. On the other hand, no similar gift having come from Takumi no Kami, Kotsuke no Suke at their next meeting redoubled his insults to such a degree that the infuriated nobleman lost his self-control, drew his dirk and aimed a blow at Kotsuk no Suke’s head, but the blade glanced aside from the latter’s court cap and he managed to escape. But for this outrage against a personage of such consequence Takumi no Kami was sentenced to commit harakiri (disembowelment); his goods were confiscated, his family ruined, and his retainers became Ronins. His principal councillor was Oishi Kuranosuka who had unfortunately been absent at the time of the affray which, had he been with his prince, would never have occurred. So together with forty-six other faithful dependants he formed a league to avenge their master’s death by killing Kotsuke no Suke. At great length the story is told of how in order to throw their enemy off his guard the Ronins separated and disguised themselves in various ways, and how more particularly their leader Qishi Kuranosuke, in order to lull their enemy’s vigilance, went to the length of divorcing his wife and leading a life of drunkenness and debauchery. And it was when one day he was lying drunk in the gutter that a Satsuma man saw him and naturally assuming that he was a craven afraid to avenge his lord, loudly reviled him and finally trod on his face and spat upon him! But at last being fully assured that Kotsuke no Suke no longer suspected anything, Qishi Kuranosuke gathered his men one cold and bitter night in midwinter, during a heavy fall of snow, and set out to attack Kotsuke no Suke’s palace in Yedo which some of his men had previously reconnoitred in the guise of workmen and pedlars. Space will not permit a detailed account of the assault. But one precaution deserves mention. Lest any of the people inside should run out to call the relations of the family to the rescue, Kuranosuke stationed ten of his men armed with bows on the roof of the four sides of the courtyard with orders to shoot any retainers who might attempt to leave the place. The resultant fight was savage and prolonged, but eventually all resistance was overcome without the loss of a single life on the side of the Ronins. But still the object of their vengeance could not be found, and it was almost by accident that he was at last run to earth in an outhouse and dragged out still dressed in a white satin sleeping robe, after being wounded in the thigh with a spear thrust dealt by one of the Ronins. Then faithful to the adage of ‘toujours la politesse ‘, Kuranosuke went down on his knees and addressing the old man very respectfully explained his mission and begged him to perform harakiri. ‘I myself ‘, he added, ‘shall have the honour to act as your second and when, with all humility, I shall have received your lordship’s head, it is my intention to lay it as an offering upon the grave of Asano Takumi no Kami ‘. It will hardly surprise us degenerates to learn that Kotsuke no Suke turned a deaf ear to these repeated exhortations, so that at last Qishi Kuranosuk6, seeing that it was vain to urge him to die the death of a nobleman, forced him down and cut off his head with the same dirk with which Asano Takumi no Kami had killed himself. Then the forty-seven comrades, elated at - having accomplished their design, placed the head in a bucket and set off for Sengakuji. And when they came to their lord’s grave they took the head of Kotsuke no Suke and having washed it clean in a well hard by laid it as an offering before the tomb.
For this act they were subsequently condemned to commit harakiri which they did without a tremor, having previously made up their minds that to this noble end they must come. And their corpses were carried to Sengakuji and buried in front of the tomb of their master, Asano Takumi no Kami. Just one more characteristic detail. The Satsuma man, who had in ignorance spurned and spat upon Oishi Kuranosuke, came one day to the forty-seven graves to pray. He prostrated himself before Gishi Kuranosuki’s grave and at the close of his invocation said, ‘And now I have come to ask pardon and offer atonement for the insult of last year.’ And so saying he prostrated himself again before the grave and drawing a dirk from his girdle stabbed himself in the belly and died. And the chief priest of the temple, taking pity upon him, buried him by the side of the Ronins, and his tomb too is still to be seen, as I saw it, with those of the forty-seven comrades. ‘A terrible picture of fierce heroism ‘, says Lord Redesdale, ‘which it is impossible not to admire.’ I feel sure that every Judoka will unhesitatingly endorse this sentiment. N. B. The polite word for harakiri is seppuku.
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Time Tunnel - From a 1952 article Ichiro Hatta who is mentioned below was the friend of Sarah Meyer whose family she stayed with during her time in Japan. Ichiro Hatta’s family have been to visit the Kano Society two years ago when they presented us with photographs of Sarah and we presented them with a copy of our video ‘An Englishwoman in Japan’. Ichiro Hatta’s son will be visiting us in March 2007. and we look forward to renewing our acquaintance with the family. |
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The Richard Bowen Collection
In 1949, Richard Bowen began judo training in London at the Budokwai, of which became Vice-President. He lived in Japan for four years to deepen his studies. A former British International, he fought in the first ever World Judo Championships in Japan in 1956. He was the author of more than eighty articles. Richard Bowen built up an extensive Judo Library in the course of research for his articles and books, and he kindly donated it to the University of Bath Library. Items in the collection are for reference use only (not available for loan). Items can be viewed between 9am-5pm. If you would like to look at an item from The Richard Bowen Collection, please contact the Subject Librarian, Peter Bradley. +44 1225 384784 A copy of the video ‘An Interlude with Richard Bowen’ has also been donated to the collection. |
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Martial Arts and Zen Titles Available from www.Dial-Media.com Or email the Kano Society at sensei@kanosociety.org Videos and DVDs NEW - ‘Ko-Izumi, Little Spring’ - NEW DVD or VHS 35mins £10 donation plus p&p |
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All above titles £10 donation each plus p&p Tapes by Trevor Leggett (Proceeds to charity) |
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An Interlude with Richard Bowen £15 donation +p&p Gunji Koizumi 35mins £15 donation plus p&p; Go-shin jutsu Part I & Part II £15 plus p&p each; Kawamura technique & gokyo - 55min-£15 +p&p An Englishwoman in Japan - Sarah Meyer and Ichiro Hatta - Based on letters to Gunji Koizumi - 15 mins - £10 donation plus p&p Budokwai advert 90 secs clip £3 donation Allan Zipeure Judo Man at 90 £10 donation Len Hunt – Judo Newaza Legend VHS or DVD 35mins £15 donation plus p&p (Proceeds of sales to charity) In preparation—Kimeno Kata
(Proceeds to charity) ORDER |
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