What happened
In the winter of 1702–03, forty-seven of Asano Naganori’s masterless retainers (ronin), led by Oishi Kuranosuke, stormed the mansion of Kira Yoshinaka, killed him, and surrendered. After weighty debate the shogunate ordered the avengers’ seppuku, carried out in early 1703. They were buried beside their lord at Sengaku-ji temple, where their graves draw visitors to this day.
Background
In 1701 Asano, lord of Ako, drew his sword against Kira, the shogunal master of ceremonies, inside Edo Castle — a capital offense. Asano was ordered to commit seppuku the same day and his domain was confiscated, while Kira went unpunished.
Consequences
The event became “Chushingura”: dramatized for the puppet theater in 1748 and endlessly retold since, it remains Japan’s defining story of loyalty versus law, still argued over by moralists and historians alike.