Chushingura - the Most Popular Japanese Tale in History

Kanadehon Chûshingura (transl. The Treasury of Loyal Retainers), popularly known as simply Chûshingura, was a ningyō jôruri (puppet theatre) in 11 acts. Written by Takeda Izumo II, Miyoshi Shôraku, and Namiki Sôsuke in 1748, Chûshingura represents one of several jôruri, written by the same authors, that make up the golden period for such plays in Japan's history. Its ten hour length often makes it difficult to find performances in its entirety, however, it remains one of Japan's most beloved stories.

It was quickly converted to the kabuki form and has hardly been out of production since its conversion to this form. In recent times, Chûshingura has been adapted for television thirteen times and been seen thirty four movie versions.

Chûshingura, based on real life events. In 1701, Asano Naganori, a master samurai, was lord of a province in central Japan. He was placed in charge of the shogun's castle in Edo (which is now Tokyo), and sought advice from Lord Kira Yoshinaka about his ceremonial duties. He was, however, naive about the ways of the castle and failed to offer a bribe to Lord Kira. This infuriated and insulted the older lord, who then tricked Asano into drawing his sword and inflicting a small wound on Lord Kira. The law of the shogun's castle was that this crime was punishable by ritual suicide, or seppuku. After securing a promise of revenge from Oishi Yoshio, his senior retainer, Asano committed suicide. The ronin, masterless samurai, then spent 18 months (though the tales in Chûshingura have the scenario lasting years) plotting their assault. The conducted a raid on Kira's mansion and beheaded the enemy of their dead master. They then paraded through town with the head and placed it on their master's grave at Sengakuji Temple.

The revenge on Lord Kira violated the strict law of first and foremost loyalty to the shogun and they were ordered to commit suicide. All forty seven complied on the same day of the same year.

As odd a tale this may seem to westerners, the historical events and the subsequent puppet play were regarded as quintessential Japanese culture. It holds an intense psychological appeal as it shows a group of people enduring unbearable struggles for a long period of time before finally achieving their collective goal; a sentiment that appeals to Japanese sensibilities. Also, in most Japanese revenge scenarios, it is almost always as retribution for wrongs against a relative. In Chûshingura, it is to show loyalty for a master, even at the expense of relatives. It is for a far loftier goal then mere personal revenge, it is honorable. And it is an incredible drama of human proportions, involving many characters weaved into a web of intricate relations. Chûshingura oozes devotion to loyalty and altruism.

In its kabuki form, Chûshingura, is a rarity. Unlike most kabuki performances, Chûshingura begins, as it does in its puppet show form, with a narrative. In the jôruri, a puppet master moves the narrator around and starts introducing characters from the play. These puppets then in turn "come to life" and move about as they are being introduced. As the narrator is the puppet of the puppet master, he in turn becomes the master of the puppets it is introducing. A modern parallel would be the musical adaptation of Cervantes' Don Quixote, Man of La Mancha, where the teller of the tale becomes a character in the play who then becomes a character within his own dementia. Somewhat convoluted but an intriguing literary structure nonetheless.

Its long lasting appeal has few rivals in western culture. Perhaps on the scale of the Arthur legends or in the human drama of a Shakespeare play, can we imagine the thrall it holds for Japanese society. In 2002, on the Tricentennial, the ronin's attacks on Lord Kira's mansion was celebrated with many year long events, including an 11 kilometer march from Asano's grave site at the Sengakuji Temple to the ruins of Kira's mansion. Nearly every year since 1900, there has been a festival, the Ako Gishi Festival (or the Loyal Samurai Festival) held in the Hyogo Pefecture in the city of Ako, drawing over a hundred thousand people.

Sources:

Chûshingura/ Society / Trends in Japan

http://web-japan.org/trends01/article/030207soc_r.html

Chûshingura - Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chushingura

The Dictionary of Global Culture

ed. Kwame Anthony Appiah & Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Alfred A. Knopf New York 1997

ISBN 0-394-58581-x