Evening star., 1928-04-21

tAltheush NTH 20 known authcr. tnis
RersEs' sS one Of tho most SamOus III JSnA-
nese nteFatuTe, % telts q tee .~rS.HntS
iG;oSa ae'0' '''' ""N' ''''''''' :"
Vengeance is the keynote of this tale
1t is one of the most famous chronicles
e --angeance ever penned.
It seems that a high lord of Japan
named Kani was grossly inSultcd in
the palace of Suke a high official.
Really. he should have hribed Suke.
when he would have been treated very
politely. for that was the kind Of per-
e>sr SSHEs was But kami did not bribs
him. and Eami became angry when s;s
wSS nSuited and tried to kill Sukc i'll
his own palace. In Japan this Gss- 3
serious offcnSe, and kami was caught
and punished for it
The punishment was that Kami must
perform hara-kiri. which means to
commit suicide by diSelnboweling one'S
self. Such was the Law. So kami did
1t. and his goods were contiScsted. and
his family was ruined. His retalnerS,
OF whom there were AZ good and true
men. became roninS. or outlaws,
Now among these retaineTS. now out
laws, there was one very wise man
named OiShi. He became the leader Of
the ~ faithful men. and together they
planned to avenge the death o. the!c
lord kanai.
But Suke suspected that the retainerS
of Kami might tTy TO wreak vengeance
and kept himself well guarded with
some soldiers borrowed from his father
in-law OiSai. being q very wise man,
knew that he would do this, and knew
too that he would first have 10 throw
SuSe completely of his guard.
So OiSEi went down into the SlunS
OF the city and became a sot and A
6ullard The spies Of Suke found him
there and reported that the wise re-
tainer of Ksrai seemed 10 have lost all
his spirit since his lords death, This
is lust what OiShi wanted q happen.
and he went on with his SSlf-choScn
life Of waste and dehauchery. Even his
wife could not persuade him TO come
hack-he made her think he was sill
csre. and allowed her 10 divorce him.
SO intent was he on aveng.ng the death
Of his lord.
Meanwhile other rollins disguised
themselves as merchants and servants,
and slowly they gained access to the
palace Of Suke and learned every cor
ner in it. They learned how it was
built from top TO bottom and communi-
A&aNSA s1Aa NSANs AkS& ~ AAASAA S~NAN~F
Oishi. who was still, apparently, lost 70
the world in the muck Of the Slums.
Slke became more and more con-
Tinced that the retainers of kaml were
not going TO seek vengeance. He deeid-
&c that his feats were groundleSS, and
he finally sent '.af the soldiers back TO
his father-in-law. Vigilance was re-
Taxed at Suke'S palace, and the coward
~ man began 70 feel quite at his ease
once more.
All this wa reported promptly 70
Oishi, and he decided that the time for
striking was near at hand. A night was
set, and all the 4T ronius. or outlaws.
agreed to meet at certain spot. fully
armed. ready to avenge the death OF
their lord.
In front of Suke's house they divided
themselves into two bands. The son Of
Oishi, with 3 men. went around TO at
tack the back gate. Four men. with
rope ladder, gained entrance 10 the
courtyard and quickly oyeTpowered the
guard in the porter's lodge. Soon an
entrance was effected for all the men,
and at the same time OiShl's men in
the rear entered also.
Now OiShi. being wise man. hac
taken the precsution Of notifying the
neiEhbors-who did not like Suke very
well. since he was the kind Of man
he was-that they were not common