Edo, snow at Honjo, Matsumura’s wife, Hayakawa Toemon’s daughter and Motoji

The wife of Matsumura and the daughter of Hayakawa, have joined a night attack on the Honjo mansion of Kira Yoshinaka, the climax of a vendetta by the followers of Asano Naganori, known as the 47 Ronin, or the Faithful Retainers, who had sworn a secret oath to kill Kira at any cost. They sought their revenge for his humiliation at the hands of Kira. This scene is from the Tale of the 47 ronin From the series Sestu gekka, (Snow, Moon, Flowers). Publisher Kobayashi Tetsujiro From the Chushingura (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers), based upon events that occurred at the beginning of the C18th. In 1701 Asano Naganori, lord of the provincial Ako domain was placed in charge of ceremonial duties at the shogun&#8217s castle in Edo). He sought instruction from the master of ceremonial duties, Kira Yoshinaka but, naively, failed to offer the usual bribe. Kira humiliated Asano to the extent that the latter drew his sword and inflicted a slight wound on Kira. The penalty for drawing a sword in the shogun&#8217s castle was strict suicide for the offending lord, confiscation of property, and dispersal of retainers. In short, the destruction of a clan. The practical basis for the shogun&#8217s law was the prevention of assassination and insurrection. Asano&#8217s retainers decided to avenge their master&#8217s death and adopted a strategy that culminated in a raid on Kira&#8217s mansion eighteen months later.