History Akō Incident - A historical Account

[Ukigumo]

This is a informative video presenting a more historical account of the Akō Jiken or story of the 47 Rōnin and it paints things in a very different light; Asano Naganori being derelict in his duties as daimyo of his han , instead preferring to indulge his personal pleasures especially those of a sexual nature. His senior retainers were rewarded for providing a string of women for his pleasure and appear to have neglected their responsibilities in instructing Asano in the martial ways, evidenced by his inability to kill Kira Yoshinaka with his short sword and from behind! It is suggested that once revenge had been exacted, the rōnin should rightfully have committed seppuku , instead, they presented themselves to the authorities in the hope of being pardoned for displaying 'true Samurai spirit' and being given employment etc. Unfortunately for them, Tsunayoshi Tokugawa was the sitting Shōgun and his strong Confucian and Buddhist values of non-violence ('Laws of Compassion') and his 'moral advisors' felt, despite popular opinion, that this transgression could not go unpunished and they were ordered to open their bellies. Fascinating.