Chūshingura & the 47 Rōnin

Although Chūshingura isn’t a name that most people in the West would recognise but I’m sure they would have heard of the story of the 47 Rōnin, if only from the movie of that name. The story of treachery against an  honourable leader and revenge by a loyal band of retainers is one that still evokes strong interest today. 

Act I: During a ceremony to enshrine a priceless helmet, lords Wakasanosuke and En’ya Hangan have been given the honour of making sure that protocol is followed while Moronō, one of the Shogun’s  ministers watches. After the ceremony the evil Moronō attempts to give Hangan’s wife, Kaoyo, a love letter but she pretends not to see it and drops it. 

Act II: Wakasanosuke is affronted by Moronō’s behaviour and tells Kakogawa Honzō, his old retainer, a resolve to kill Moronō. Honzō expresses support by slicing off a pine tree branch but when Wakasanosuke has gone he rushes to Moronō to see if he can get an apology from him. It is an offence punishable by death for anyone to draw their sword in the Shogun’s palace so an apology would prevent Wakasanosuke from killing him and having to suffer seppuku and the loss of his lands and assets. 

Act III: Honzō fears that the animosity will escalate between Wakasanosuke and Moronō so he tries to bribe him to avoid any conflict. When Wakasanosuke arrives he is shocked when Moronō prostrates himself and apologises. Wakasanosuke storms off knowing he is now has no reason to kill Moronō. 

Moronō’s pent up anger at having to apologise to Wakasanosuke is taken out on the nearest person, En’ya Hangan, and this is made worse when Hangan unwittingly brings him a letter from Kaoyo spurning his advances. Moronō comments on Hangan’s tardiness; mocking him that he must be stuck to his wife like glue and neglecting his duties. He further mocks Hangan by comparing him to a carp that lived all its life in a well and then is released in a river only to hit its head on the pillar of a bridge and die. He beckons an attendant over to look at a carp in formal robes, hitting Hangan with his fan, a gross insult. 

Hangan could take it no more and starts to withdraw his sword but Moronō reminds him that to remove it but 3-inches would be enough to forfeit all his lands … but that he had lived to a ripe old age and his remaining wish would be to be killed by a carp. Hangan is forced to apologise but Moronō goads him yet further by putting his face close to him and telling him he will give his duties to Wakasanosuke as they are too much for a barbarian like him. As Moronō turned to walk away Hangan draws his sword and slices at him but Honzō who has been hiding nearby and prevents Hangan from killing Moronō but thereby prevents Hangan exacting revenge, which now will fall on his followers to enact.

Act IV: The Shōgun demands that En’ya Hangan commit seppuku, which he dutifully does, forfeiting his lands and titles. His samurai followers now have no master or home and thus become rōnin. Ōboshi Yuranosuke takes control of the band and they together plan to take their share of their master’s money and disperse to avoid detection by the authorities, to plot their master’s revenge on Moronō.

Okaru, Kaoyo’s lady-in-waiting is in love with Kanpei, one of Hangen’s retainers. Because they had a tryst on the night of his master’s demise they missed the goings on and Kanpei is stricken with remorse. Okaru pleads with him not to commit suicide but instead to go to her parent’s house and live as husband and wife. Hearing of his colleague’s plans to avenge their master he determines to win back his place amongst them.

Act V: Unknown to Kanpei, Okaru has decided to be sold to the Gion pleasure house to raise funds for Kanpei to join his colleagues, but returning from the negotiation with 50 ryō (the other 50 ryō to be paid on delivery) her father is stabbed by a robber who makes off with the money. Shots ring out as a boar runs past and Kanpei kills the robber by accident – he is mortified to have killed a person but he takes the money he finds on the robber to donate to fund the vendetta.

At Okaru’s house next day the Gion proprietess is waiting with the remaining 50 ryō for her father to return. Kanpei comes in and hears the story and notes that her money-bag is the same as the one he took off the body that night and concludes that he has killed his father-in-law. He is mute with shock some retainers come in to return the 50 ryō because they have heard that he is broke and they didn’t want to take money that might have been obtained unlawfully. 

Act VI: Kanpei commits seppuku but as he dies he explains what he has done and the retainers discover that the father-in-law’s body had stab wounds, not bullet wounds which reveals the truth of the situation. The retainers pull out the list of retainers committed to the vendetta and urge Kanpei to add his name so that he will die happy to be listed among them.    

Act VII: Okaru now works at the Gion Ichiriki geisha house in Kyōto and one of the guests is Hangan’s chief retainer, Yuranosuke, pretending to be tipsy and enjoying a life of ease. Moronō expects revenge and so has sent his spies to check if the retainers are conspiring against him. Yuranosuke’s behaviour is so convincing even some of the other retainers think he is not taking his role seriously. Kudayū, one of Moronō’s henchmen tests Yuranosuke by making him eat fish on the anniversary of Hangan’s deaths, thus breaking a religious taboo. Yuranosuke plays along but is tortured inside. 

When he thinks he is alone he reads a secret letter from Hangan’s widow Kaoyo but Kudayū is just outside the window and can read it too. Furthermore Okaru sitting in a neighbouring room can read it in her mirror and once Yuranosuke realises she knows of the vendetta he knows he must kill her to keep it secret. He offers to buy-out her contract for which she is ecstatic however when her brother Heiemon hears of the letter and Yuranosuke’s promise he understands the truth. He wants to join the vendetta and he convinces Okaru to let him kill her so that he gets credit enough to join the retainers. She agrees but Yuranosuke overhears all of this and understands both are sincere in their motives so he lets Heiemon join and directs Okaru to where she can kill Kudayū so that his death can be credited to her late husband, Kanpei.

Act VIII: A short dance featuring Honzō’s wife Tonase and their daughter Konami travelling along the Tōkaidō road to Kyōto to unite her with Rikiya, the son of Yuranosuke. The peace and beauty of the scene is designed to contrast with the mother’s anxiety that this will all end in tragedy. 

Act IX: When Honzō prevented Hangan from killing Moronō he thought he was doing the right thing but in effect Hangan still died but his humiliation by Moronō was left unavenged, which earned him the scorn of the other retainers. It also meant that the marriage between his daughter Konami and Rikiya was doomed to sadness. Ultimately, Honzō sacrifices his life to atone for this mistake in judgement. 

Act X: Yuranosuke has brought a merchant called Amakawaya Gihei into the circle to gather weapons for the attack. Gihei sends his wife to his father-in-law’s house so she cannot learn what is happening. His father-in-law pesters him to let him marry her off to a wealthier man but at this moment retainers arrive to test Gihei’s loyalty. But he doesn’t even give the location of the weapons after they threaten to kill his young son, so Yuranosuke reveals to him that he has passed the test. Yuranosuke then cuts off Gihei’s wife’s hair with his sword and declares to the father-in-law that she cannot be married off because she has become a nun. 

Act XI: The December snow is deep and the retainers, dressed as firemen, attack Moronō’s mansion at night. The villain is found hiding in the coal shed. He is beheaded and the retainers put his head on Hangan’s grave. The retainers will all commit seppuku but this is omitted from the play because it would be too gruesome. In addition Moronō is usually played at this stage by a different/lesser actor so that the main actor who played him in acts 1 & 3 didn’t have to hang around for eight hours just to have his head chopped off in the final minutes! 

Comments

“This play is unique in the present day theatre, because it is the only play introduced by a puppet. The puppet is positioned atop a box in front of the stage curtain. Although “Chūshingura” was first performed as a Bunraku puppet play, the puppet used today is not a Bunraku puppet but is like a ventriloquist’s dummy, which is manipulated by a kōken (a stage hand dressed entirely in black with a black net over his face). The puppet performs the role of a stage manager, introducing the names of all the actors to appear in the play, and asking the audience for their kind patronage. The puppet is then removed from the stage.” (Jean Wilson, April 1998)

“The curtain opens extremely slowly (unless you know it is supposed to be opened slowly, it looks like the curtain is stuck and is being painfully tugged open inch by inch by a hapless stagehand) while wooden clappers are struck 47 times–one for each of Lord Hangan’s samurai. All of the actors in the opening scene are motionless, and do not ‘come to life’ until the name of their character is mentioned in an introductory prologue given by a chanter. This is also a throwback to the practice of the puppet theatre and is performed in the Kabuki theatre today only in “Chūshingura.” (Jean Wilson, April 1998)

Taken from https://www.kabuki21.com/kc.php