The Forty-seven

I finally got there.

In Tokyo, there is a temple called Sengakuji, which has a cemetery where the daimyo Asano Takumi no Kami Naganori, his wife, Yōzenin, and forty-eight samurai who served them are buried. The dramatis personae of one of the most famous samurai stories in culture, the Kanadehon Chūshingura - the story of loyal retainers, which I have been studying since... let me count... I think I first came across them in 2003, and then it just never ended.

In a nutshell, what happened - daimyo Asano attacked a courtier in the shogun's castle, for which he was punished by death, but the courtier - contrary to custom - was not punished in any way, which Asano's loyal warriors considered slander. In connection with this, they prepared an attack on this courtier in his estate and after over a year of preparations and leading a double life to hide it, they carried out the attack and murdered him, and offered his head on the grave of their master (in Sengakuji). The authorities, after several weeks of wondering how to treat the warriors who committed the murder, but also justified it seriously with samurai principles and surrendered themselves to the law, finally issued a sentence ordering the warriors to commit honorable suicide, seppuku. And everyone was happy; the warriors, because they took revenge and could still leave honorably, the authorities, because they showed that they did not accept such actions. Well, maybe only the slain courtier, Kira Kozuke no Suke, wasn't thrilled. Although rumor has it that he also was far from being an angel.

Was I not mistaken when I wrote that forty-eight were buried in the cemetery? No. The ashes of one of the warriors who had previously been in the conspiracy, but for reasons beyond his control, had committed seppuku earlier, were also transferred there. The other comrades entered him on the official list of participants and it was obvious that he should join them.

The temple is small, as is the cemetery, so if someone was going, it would probably take about twenty minutes to walk around the whole thing. It took me a bit longer, two hours 😅 However, I wasn't alone. There were other visitors there all the time. They came and went. Each visitor to the cemetery receives a handful of lit twigs, which they spread on the graves of the daimyo, his wife and warriors. This makes the visit immediately more personal. For me, it was an event from the series of unbelievable events, i.e. I got so used to the idea that I wouldn't get there that I'm still not entirely sure if it happened. However, the smell of fleece, completely smoked by the smoke of incense, assures me of this😅

This time the weather was great, so these few photos were taken without rain.

Tablica stacji metra Sengakuji w Tokio / Tokyo Sengakuji subway station sign

Świątynia Sengakuji w Tokio / Sengakuji Temple in Tokyo

Groby wojowników, nad którymi unosi się dym z kadzideł / The graves of warriors, with incense smoke above them