Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-12-28

able opportunity could occur for carrying
together, and, having divided their band
into two parties, assigned to each man his
post. One band, led by Oishi Kuranosuke.
was to attack the front gate, and the other,
under his son, Oishi Chkara, was to attack
the postern of Kotsuke no Suke's house;
out as Chikara was only sixteen years of
age, foshida Chiuzayemon was appointed
10 act as his guardian. Further 1t was ar
ranged that a.drum, beaten at the order of
kuranosuke, should be the signal for the
simultaneous attack; and that If any one
slew kotSuke no Suke and cut off his head
ne should blow a shrill whistle, as a signal
10 his comrades, who would hurry to the
spot, and, having identified the head carry
1t off to the temple called Sengakuji, and
OF their dead lord. Then they must re-
port their deed to the government and
await the sentence Of death which would
surely lie passed upon them. To this the
Ronins one and all pledged themselves
Midnight was fixed upon as the hour, and
the forty-seven comrades, having made all
ready Tor the attack, partook of last
farewell feast together, for on the morrow
they must die. Then Oishi Kuranosuke ad-
dressed the band, and said
Tonight we shall attack our enemy in
MS palace; his retainers will certainly re-
sist US, and we shall be Obliged to kill
them. But to Stay old men and women
ana children is pitiful thing; therefore,
pray you each one to take great heed lest
you Kill single helpless person." His
comrades all applauded this speech, and
so they remained, waiting for the hour of
midnight to arrive.
When the appointed hour came, the Rom
ms set forth. The wind howled furiously
and the driving snow beat in their faces !:
but little cared they for wind or snow as
they hurried on their road, eager for re-
venge. AT last they reached Kotsuke no
Suke's house. and divided themselves into
Two bands; and Chikara, with twenty-three
men. went round to the back gate. Then
-FOUR men, by means of a ladder of ropes
winch they hung on to the roof of the
porch, erected an entry into the court
yard; and, as they saw signs that all the
inmates of the house We're asleep they
went into the porter's lodge where the
guard slept and, before the latter had time
70 recover from their establishment, bound
them. The terrified guard prayed hard for
mercy, that their lives might be spared
ana 10 THIS the Ronins agreed on condition
lnat the Keys of the gate should be given
up; out the others tremblingly said that the
keys Were kept in the house of one of their
officers, and that they had no means of
obtaining them. Then the Ronns lost pa
.,ehce' and with hammer dashed in pieces
the big wooden bolt which secured the gate
ana the doors flew open to the right and
10 the left. At the same time Chikara and
his party broke in by the back gate.
inen O1Shi kuranoSuke sent a. messenger
to-the neighboring houses, bearing the fol-
lowing message: I'VE, the Ronins who
We're formerly in the service of Asano
Iakumi no kami, are this night about to
break into the palace of Kotsuke no Sul<e
TO aVenge our lord. AS We are neither
night robbers nor ruffians, no hurt will be
done to the neighboring houses. We pray
you TO set your minds at rest And as
kotsuks no Suke was hated by his neigh
bors for his covetousness, they did not
unite their forces to- assist him. Another
precaution was yet taken. Lest any of the
people inside should run out to call the re-
lations of the family to the rescue and
these coming in force should interfere with
the plans of the Ronins, kuranosuke sta
toned ten of his men armed with bows on
the roof of the four sides of the courtyard,
with orders to shoot any retainers who
might attempt to leave the place. Having
thus laid all his plans and posted his men,
kuranoSuke with his own hand beat the
drum and gave the signal for attack
Ten of Kotsuke no Sukes retainers hear
ing the noise, woke up; and, drawing their
swords rushed into the front room to de-
fend their master. At this moment the
front hall, entered the same room. Then
arose furious fight between the two
parties in the midst of which Chikara,
leading his pen through the garden, broke
into the back Of the house: and Kotsuke
no Suke, In terror of his life, took refuge,
with his wife and female servants, in
closet in the verandah; while the rest of
his retaners. who slept in the barrack cut
side the house, made ready to go to the
rescue But the Ronins who had come in
by the front door, and were fighting with
the ten retainers, ended by overpowering
and staying the latter without losing one
of their own number; after which, forcing
their way bravely toward the back rooms
they We're Joined by Chikara and his men,
and the two bands We're united in one.
By this time the remainder of Kotsuke
no Suke's men had come in, and the fight
became general and Kuranosuke, sitting
on a camp stool, gave his orders and di-
rected the Ronins. Soon the inmates of the
house perceived that they We're no match
hni CO how trio 70 n
intelligence of their plight to Uyesugi
Sauna, their lords father-in-law. begging
him to come to the rescue with all the force
at his command. But the messengers We're
shot down by the archers whom kurano-
suke had posted on the roof. So no help
coming, they fought on in despair. Then
kcranoSuke cried out with loud voice:
"Kotsuke no Suke alone is our enemy; let
some one go inside and bring him forth
dead or alive"
Now in front of Kotsuke no Suke's pri-
vate room stood three brave retainers with
drawn swords. The first was Kobayashi
Hehachi, the second was Waku Handaiyu,
and the third was Shimidzu Ikkaku, all
good men and true, and expert swordsmen.
So stoutly did these men lay about them
that for while they kept the whole of the
Ronins at bay, and at one moment even
forced them back. When Oishi Kurano-
suke saw this. he ground his teeth with
rage, and shouted to his men: What!
did not every man of you swear to lay
down his life in avenging his lord and now
are you driven back by three men? Cow
ards, not fit to be spoken to! to die fighting
in masters cause should be the noblest
ambition of a retainer Then turning to
his own son Chikara. he said, Here. boy!
engage those men, and if they are too
strong for you. die!''
Spurred by these words, Chikara seized
spear and gave battle to Waku Handaiyu,
but could not hold his ground. and back
ing by degrees was driven out into the
garden, where he missed his footing and
slipped into a pond; but Handaiyu.
thinking to kill him, looked down into the
pond. Chikara cut his enemy in the leg
and caused him to fall, and then crawling
out of the water despatched him. In the
meanwhile Kobayashi Hehachi and Shimi-
zu Ikkaku had been killed by the other
Ronins and of all Kotsuke no Suke's re-
tainers not one fighting man remained.
Chikara, seeing this, went with his bloody
sword in his hand into a back room to
search for Kotsuke no Suke, but he only
found the of the latter, young lord
named kira Sahioye, who. carrying a hal
berd, attacked him, but was soon wounded
and fled. Thus the whole of kotsuke no
Suke's men having been killed, there was
an end of the fighting; but yet there
was no trace of kotsuke no Suke to be