The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1891-11-27
'FORTY-SEVE RONINS."
A WEIRD TALE OF DEATH AND
LOYALTY IN JAPAN.
Their Master Sentenced to Death by
Suicide, His Faithful Followers
Decide to Court Death
For The ms elves.


For The ms elves.
at the beginning of the eighteenth
century on imperial ambassador was
to travel on a matter Of great import
ance from the court of the mikadc to
the shotgun in Yeddo. writes C.. Sada-
kichi Hartmann in the New York Sun.
AS such an official must be received
with great honor the grand master of
ceremonies Katsukenosuke, was at
tended by two noblemen of very high
rank, Tsano Takumi no Kami and
Kamei Sama. But Katsukenosuke
was very avaricious man, and as the
presents which the two noblemen gave
him on entering their Office did not
seem precious enough to him. he tor
mented the noblemen in every possible
way and insulted them. Takumi bore
all his insults with patience. Kamei
plotted revenge, and one evening he
announced to his subordinates that he
would kill the old miser the following
morning. Nothing could change his
decision, though he knew he would
pay for it with his life, and that his
family would be deprived of their
| property. So his head vassal took
refuge in an artifce. Going to Kat
sukenosuke the next morning he laid
all his own savings at his feet as
present from his master, and when
Kamei called he was received in such
friendly way that he abandoned his
schemes.
Then Katsukenosuke directed all his
prosecutions against Takumi whom he
offended SO deeply that he attacked
the grand master of ceremonies with
his sword, inficting slight wound on
his enemy's forehead. Takumi was
imprisoned and sentenced to the hari-
kiri His property was confscatcd,
and his vassals became Ronins, or
strolling knights Takumi's head vas
sal, Kuranosuke, resolved, with forty
| six other faithful vassals, to avenge
the death of their master, but the
grand master of ceremonies was on his
guard. To defeat his vigilance they
resolved to dispense, and Kuranosuke
began leading dissipated life until
the suspicious of the grand master
were allayed, and he no longer feared
for his safety.
kuranosnke meantime matured his
plans and waited. It was a winter
night with a violent snowstorm blow
ing, when the forty-seven assembled
near Yeddo at the large bridge SanJo
Baschi, and in two bands proceeded to
the palace of Katsukenosuke. At mid
night they broke in the gates and,
after bloody combat with the gate
keepers, they penetrated into the inte-
rior of the palace. For a long time
they looked in vain for their victim.
Eventually they discovered behind
picture a big hole on the wall which
led into dark corridor. There they
caught Katsukenosuke. He was OBJ
stinately silent about his identity, but
Kuranosuke had recognized him at
once by the scar on his forehead.
The grand master of ceremonies was
several times requested to perform the
harakiri and to die the hon orable and
voluntary death of nobleman, but he
remained sitting and trem bling. At
last Kuranosuke threw him down and
beheaded him with the same sword
with which his feudal lord had found
death.
The forty-seven conspirators had
accomplished their duty of revenge.
They laid Katsukenosuke's head after
washing it in a brook, on their lords
grave and invited the priests of the
temple to pray tor the dead. Then
their leader, Kuranosuke. gave the
priests all the money he had and
begged for an honorable burial for
him and his friends. The conspira,
tors were condemned to the hara-kiri,
but, in recognition of their faithful
! ness, they were treated with the great
est honor, as if they belonged to the
! highest nobility in the land. They
were divided into four bands and
placed under the surveillance of four
princes, in whose palace the hara- kiri
took place. Their bodies were buried
beside their master, and. their fame
spreading all over the country. thou
SdnuS cdIne W pray dG Inolf graves.
The Temple Seguki is near Yeddo
and in the center of group of trees
many hundred years old, and its prin-
cipal court contains the Chapel of Di-
vine Mercy. Here statues to the Ro-
nins and their feudal lord were erected.
! A brook flows by the chapel. Near it
is the following inscriptions: This is
| the place where the head was washed
Here nobody is allowed to wash his
hands or feet" Somewhat higher up
are forty-eight little graves covered
with evergreens.
Artificial vs.. Natural Ice.
| The icemen in New YORK; Citu who