The true story behind the legend of the 47 Rōnin - Adam Clulow
Dig into one of Japan’s most infamous stories about the 47 samurai who take revenge for the loss of their leader.
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Asano Naganori, lord of Akō domain, fixed his gaze on Kira Yoshinaka, a senior master of ceremony. Asano extended his short sword, charged through the castle, and struck Kira. While the wound wasn’t fatal, its consequences would be. What brought about this violent quarrel? And what would come of Asano and his samurai? Adam Clulow shares the legend of the 47 Rōnin and their quest for revenge.
Lesson by Adam Clulow, directed by Arvind Singh Jeena, Anantha Krishnan, Totem Creative.
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"We can't live under the same heaven as our lord's enemy" has to be one of the most metal lines ever said after killing someone.
What does it mean? That the killing changed which heaven either party would go to? Or that they believed that they were all living in heaven at the time?
@@jumpinjohnnyruss I think in this case it means they couldn't stand to live under the same sky as the man who indirectly killed their boss. Especially since it appears as though the guy wasn't punished until the ronin came along.
@@thenovicenovelist Thanks. That seems right.
Government really said “cool motive, still murder tho”
Agree with you on that one. However, they wouldn't have used the term 'heaven' at all. Ronin were most likely Buddhist or Shinto. Both have spiritual realms or concepts related to afterlife and the spiritual world, but not quite the same as the Western understanding of heaven.
The 47 Ronin is an amazing tale of honor, loyalty, and avenging the death of your leader.
Actually that's just a movie. And has wild creatures in it that never actually existed. But, yeah you're so right. Maybe you should look past the little movies you like and actually learn something about the history of Japan. Because all of Japanese History is like this.
Ironically though, their leader/Daimyo was not killed by the man they targeted and killed. Also, the authority did not only remove (jail) their Daimyo, but destroyed their family and status, which I find was the true injustice here. By killing one man and his guards, I don't find their leader and family were avenged at all: they were only given the right to commit honorable suicide, ending their clan's noble status even more so. All in all, the authorities successfully destroyed one noble house, taking over all their properties, and getting rid of many of the related samurai, in response to one attempted murder committed by one man.
@@matthew-jy5jpIt's not wild creatures. Those are mythological creatures and off course they never existed but the Oni and Tengu as well as a myriad of other creatures are part and parcel of various media while retelling Japanese History. I have zero interest in Japanese History but games like Nioh and Sekiro and movies like this one captured my imagination and I followed the historical events fully.
Also not forgetting Samurai Jack. It is my most favorite animation of all times.
did an AI write this comment
I love how it's done similar to Samurai Jack's art style
I was thinking the same thing. Gendy Tartakovski is a masterful animator and director.
Yes, the depiction of samurai/Japan that only exists in the minds of American millennials. Very authentic
@yn5568 cool your jets fun police
Especially the scene at 0:40.
Xd😊
Oishi's son, Chikara was among the 47. He joined the raid and committed seppuku. He was the youngest, only 16.
@kaoriki I thought they spared him?
@@stevengreen9536 He was very yiung and didn't have to, but, he wanted to be part of the plan. Gladly accepted the verdict😢
They forgot mention the lengths the samurai did to pretend like the they gave up vengeance but were secretly plotting revenge
Oh? Can you elaborate or direct me to a source of info. You've got me curious...
So did you.
@@meghanav3450 Some is here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forty-seven_r%C5%8Dnin and some I'm writing from memory from a book, but the ronin waited quite a while to take Kira down, and in some of the stories they do very drastic things like abandon or kill their families and drunkenly brawl and generally act without honor to make people think they were not going to attempt revenge. Some think that the ronin should have attacked Kira right away, even though they were likely to lose, in order to act like honorable samurai. In waiting and sneaking around, they assured their success, 'but at what cost?' I'm no expert on Japanese culture or history but I know the concepts of giri and gimu factor in heavily to the discussion.
@@meghanav3450 The 47 waited 2 years before they attacked. Long enough for Lord Kira to believe that the samurai had forsworn their vengeance. Oishi, the leader, went so far as to divorce his wife and lived as a drunkard. But when the day to attack came, the 47 were still more than capable.
the video mentioned the amount of time - 2 years. that says many things even without saying anything.
Ted-Ed never fails to make quality content.
Don't look the Sankara video, though... :/
Idk how right this is, but I learned in school that, in the two years of planning their revenge, the Ronins had to pretend to have lost all faith and honor, leading to them being publicly humiliated and spat on left and right, all to make sure no one got suspicious of them. After their success, some of the people that disrespected them also committed sepuku to apologize to the Ronins for their short sightedness.
That is interesting
However according to Yamamoto Tsunetomo, author to Hagakure, this was a risky move as Kira was already at the advance age of sixty as the average lifespan was between 40 to 60 years. If Kira had died due to natural causes before the ronins had the chance of carrying out their revenge attack, they would forever be branded as cowards and disloyal and thus brough further shame to the already disbanded Asano Clan.
I very much appreciate the short form animated stories from both history and mythology. 😊
Me too
Intriguing narration of samurai loyalties and the advent of Tokugawa rules. It certainly provides a unique perspective about the struggles of the samurai class and cultural ideals in the wider socio-political context. Stirs the contemplation of honor, duty, and the extent to which one might go to uphold them.
Interesting description 🙂
I'm amazed at how this video has converged with THE RISE OF THE RONIN
Deep love & respect Ted ed ❤️💙
Oh this art style is beautiful! Wonderful legend!
Hey Ted -ed what you think make a video about the 1992 Los Angeles ritos.
That would be interesting though there are plenty of videos and documentaries about that event
The art style is simple and captivating. Respect to the artist. Can you imagine the conviction they had? Knowing the consequences of their actions. Hardcore.
❤ Awesome as always thanks
The story of the 47 Ronins itself is actually an embellishment of a true historical event known as the Ako Incident in the historical records of Japan. The story is portrayed in Chushingura instead of the official historical records. The historical Asano Naganori is not the gentleman portrayed in the story but a man with a rash hot-headed personality and often acts on impulse. The Shogunate had agents to spy on all the feudal lords and document their personalities. Asano's records in the Shogunate documents do not reflect any positive traits. The administration of Ako, Asano's domain was not done by Asano but rather by his chief retainer Oishi Yoshio as Asano lacks the interest in ruling his domain and spends most of the time indulging in pleasure. He and another feudal lord are assigned by the Shogunate to host a visiting envoy from Kyoto. Kira Yoshinaka being a koke or master of ceremonies is assigned to teach them on court etiquettes and rituals. Kira is portrayed as a greedy and corrupt court official who demand bribes for tutoring Asano and another feudal lord court etiquettes. Whether Kira is greedy and corrupt as portrayed will never be known. Kira's position as the master of ceremonies is highly prestigious but unfortunately a low paid position. His annual income is barely 10% of Asano's annual income. Perhaps Kira expected some rich gifts as compensations for tutoring as a supplement to his meagre income. As a master of ceremonies, Kira sets a very high standard and demands perfection. Official records mention that Kira has the reputation of a fair and honorable person and is highly respected by many people even by the shogun himself. Also Kira often funded the constructions of infrastructures in his hometown and is well respected by its inhabitants. Asano lacks patient to learn the court etiquettes properly and perhaps got frequent reprimanded by Kira. Being a rash person, Asano perhaps see all the reprimands by Kira as insults and decides to attack Kira while still inside the Shogun's castle. It will never be known whether Kira did insulted Asano though most likely it never happens in the first place. It is a great crime of drawing a sword while in the Shogun's castle and punishable by death. Asano will choose time and place to strike Kira if he is truly a gentleman as portrayed in the story and will not foolishly attack Kira while still within the Shogun's castle. Due to his rash hot-headed personality, he attacks Kira within the Shogun's Castle and got punished by committing seppuku. The action of the 47 Ronins is criticized by some renown samurais. The author of Hagakure, Yamamoto Tsunetomo, ask a well-known question of what happen if Kira died less than a year after Asano's death due to an illness. The ronins wait for more than a year before finding an opportunity to strike. Kira is already at the advanced age of 60 as the average life expectancy is around age 40 plus. When that happens, the ronins will lost their only chance to exact revenge and will forever be branded as cowards thus bringing shame to the Asano clan. Furthermore Asano did break the law and had to be dealt with accordingly and they are forbidden under law to seek revenge. The attack on Kira's residence is also one sided. Kira is not a wealthy man as portrayed in the story where he employs more than a thousand guards to protect himself. Due to his lower income position, he is able to afford only a handful of guards. Official records mentioned that the ronins are armed to the teeth as well as using gunpowder weapons. Kira's guards are not only outnumbered but also outfought. Also, the ronins may have self interest reason for reporting their plan to the Shogunate. Perhaps they expect to be pardoned by the Shogunate on grounds they had acted according to Bushido and enable them to find employment elsewhere. The ronins fail in their duty of guiding their feudal lord to become a better person. So they blame the misfortune of their feudal lord on a court official who has the misfortune of teaching court etiquettes to a feudal lord with a rash hot headed personality rather than their own incompetent feudal lord. They justify their attack by accusing Kira as a dishonorable and corrupt court official. Hence the story of the 47 Ronin is more about carrying out revenge based on misguided honor, loyalty and sacrifice. Also a feudal lord with a hot headed and impulsive personality is posthumously elevated as an honorable gentlemen worthy of a true samurai while an elderly court official with decades of good service records to the Shogunate is posthumously vilified as greedy and cowardly court official.
Fun fact. Honor and loyalty in japan culture doesnt end with samurai. In WW2, hiroo onoda fought guerilla in the phillipines forest until 1974 because he think the war hasnt ended. He only surrendered after his commanding officer flew from japan to phillipines and formally ordered him to surrender. The officer has long since become bookseller.
Well that's funny, a similar thing happened during the Filipino revolution against the Spanish in 1898
I love ted ed❤
First Oiwa, now this. Amazing. Cant wait for more Japanese stories :)
east or west.. ted ed is the best
I think the point of the story is the question about what it means to be a samurai and the dilemma between the times and society and who and what they are. A book written by a samurai called the Hagakure by Yamamoto Tsunetomo, and the book is a philosophical examination about the qualities of and what essentially a samurai is, makes an interesting point which was that the only reason the story was any good, was because they were ultimately successful in their quest for vengeance, but looking at it as a whole from his point of view, he believed that the samurai were foolish. The reasons were, if loyalty and their place in the world was to be examined, then rather than thinking too difficultly about it, they should have followed their lord in death, but if it was vengeance, then rather than waiting two years until the heat of the possibility of something happening was gone, they should have done so straight away even if the possibility of success was lower, given that lord Asano could have died or illness or accident or any number of ways during their ploy of pretending to be drunken and depressed ronin who were unlikely to take revenge. His opinion is that at least one of them should have had the courage as well as the sense of loyalty and duty to charge in even alone and outnumbered with the intention of cutting down as many as possible and potentially taking the head of Asano himself before committing seppuku and following his lord to the next life. Yamamoto Tsunetomo faced a similar dilemma when before his lord died, he and the other retainers were ordered or not permitted to commit seppuku and follow him in death when his lord would die. Therefore, he chose to shave his head and become a monk and get rid of his name (essentially dying to his past self) and to be of use to others in a different way of serving the needs of the fief and clan and helped others to become better samurai. Ted-Ed should do a video on the Hagakure, it is a very good book.
John Wick being among the 47 Ronin is another honourable mention.
God I love this story so much more than the movie
The animation is top notch
Please help I cant stop binging ted-ed!!!!
STOPPP!!
@@dr.vspace IM TRYING!!!
By relating myths, legends and customs, TedEd unites us all .
Samurai are life
I am so happy that I get to enjoy this content. KZhead is filled with such nonsense and the algorithm pushing shorts isn't for me. Thank you Ted-Ed for quality videos that nourish my brain!
WE CANNOT LIVE UNDER THE SAME HEAVEN AS OUR ENEMIES
Asano Naganori killed Kira Yoshinaka because he witnessed Kira doing something completely unacceptable. PEERING INTO LADIES’ PRIVATE QUARTERS! IT’S NOT PROPER!
PFFHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAA I LOVED THAT SCENE
But a foolish samurai warrior wielding a magic sword stepped forth to appose me
Hey Ted-ed, please make a video on Bengal famine 1943-1944
Side note : The families of the dead Samuria whom defend Kira were taken care of while the families of the 47 Ronin lived (mostly) in Poverty. Mostly cause the Asano's brother didn't approved the revenge because he knew full well the problem wasn't with Kira but Tokugawa. Honor for one is paid with Honor while Honor for the other is not.
As a person who lived during the Ako Domain at the time I can confirm Keanu Reeves was there
It’s altogether a beautiful story
I love that story
They are truly honourable, knowing that dozens of them wont survive the wrath of the Shogun, let alone their Daimyo. Sadly, people like them are rare nowadays.
A very awesome and epic story. I love it.
Give a video on Ahom Empire
The OGs know this story from the Robert De Niro movie Ronin "They chose honour; they chose myth" "They chose wrong"
You can see where all of this stuff happened, just in the grounds outside of the modern imperial palace in Tokyo
Fun fact: Kira Yoshikage, the psychopath killer in JoJo, drawn inspiration from Kira Yoshinaka in the 47 Ronin. That shows how much the 47 are feared and respected.
Proof?
Can’t see any connection other than the last name Kira, which is quite common. The first names are of completely different characters.
@@Liquid-Lithium The Japanese name "Kira" is written 吉良, which was also used by Araki. The author even later explained that he used this from the 47 Ronin sources. Except that he was writing a Westernised manga, so literally it had a different functioning.
TED-Ed released this video at the perfect time, as Shogun is also streaming right now.
That's some next level loyalty
The ultimate 'Yes, but...'
ADAM CLULOW!!!! THE BEST HISTORY PROFESSOR AT UT!!!!
Where’s keanu reeves? Lol
Working on Constantine 2
😂
@ThrillSeeker3524 😂
Off Morbin' elsewhere.
Xd😊
For anyone interested in this story, I highly recommend Chushingura 👍 I had to read it for a class but I probably read it about one sitting, it was a very dramatic page turner despite being the script of a play
Ah, yes. The Anime art style. ✨
Wow.
Oh, to have friends like the 47 ronins
This certainly sounds good too, but I think it's still worth considering more reliable options like copy trading platforms such as Eledator, for example.
We can't live under the same heaven as our lord's enemy - that words sent shiver to my neck literally
Hope my homies are these loyal damn thats some crazy loyalty
Aside from a few effy constume designs and an illustration strangely implies they assaulted Kira's residence like ninja (reality: they busted through the main doors and didn't conceal their identities at all), it's not a bad retelling of a story
The 47 ronin is an amazing tale of brutality, pomped up pride and military bravado from a ruling class that had a monopoly on violence being bound by the laws of the common man in a new age. Unless you view them as heroes, or honourable, in which case you for some reason bought into all the legend and myth making instead of the actual history too, just like the ronin, but with your access to proper records.
It's also a sad story, because surely at least one of those Rōnin (maybe the 16yo Oishi's son) actually believed in the lies fed to him, and commited suicide after brutaly killing people under this wicked oppresive system painted to both kids and older adults under the name of "honor" - which is beautiful if correctly applied, but not as a diversion for endless cycle of killing and taking. Hopefully the wife/widow and sisters didn't suffer after they were gone.
I was there. Seppuku wasnt fun but worth it
Can you do a history vs Fritz Haber pls
日本人ですが、アニメーションの節々に違和感を感じました。あくまでナレーションがメインと思って見るのがいいと思います。
It's an honour between man's of men.
nothing could have prepared me for that last statement
日本の話題嬉しい！
1:03 nit picking here but I am pretty sure they used Calligraphy Brushs to write back then
If you think about it, the story of human civilization is the story of revenge. As early as when some wolly mammoth trampled early man and they had to rally as many tribes to make overpowered numbers and overtake them
Now I know the origins for the name of Ronin - Hawkeye character in End Game 🤔
Lord Toranaga 🎉
“This is the end of the story of the forty-seven loyal retainers-except that the story has no ending, because we other men, who are perhaps not loyal yet will never entirely lose the hope that we might one day be so, shall continue to honor them with our words.” Jorge Luis Borges
Because of them the code of honour is still practice in Japan.
Simple, death before dishonor. I can dig that.
this is like one of those japenese ancient war movies
Kurosawa Vibe
Japan be wilding
1:03 quills?
I know right? Why would the Japanese of the Edo period be using quills instead of brushes for writing? I'm glad I'm not the only one to have noticed.
Εύχομαι η παγκοσμιοποίηση να μην γίνει ποτέ πραγματικότητα..! Η ομορφιά βρίσκεται στη πολιτισμική διαφορετικότητα του κάθε λαού!
I agree 100%... The elite are trying to wipe out culture.
Todays people don't understand loyalty, honor, and purpose.
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Asano had every right to be pissed off at Kira, but he shouldn't have attacked him like that, he just made things worse for himself!
The official records never mentioned why Asano seems to antagonize Kira. Kira is said to have insulted Asano thought there are no evidence that he did. The historical Asano is a hotheaded person with an impulsive personality. He lacks the patient and discipline to learn court etiquettes probably and got frequent reprimanded by Kira. Due to his impulsive personality, perhaps he sees the reprimands by Kira as insults and attacks Kira on impulse instead. If he is an honorable man as portrayed in the story, he would wait for the right time and place to strike at Kira. Unfortunately, he is not that person and for that he was ordered to die by seppuku.
Now I'm curious what happened to the other 253+ Ronin that didn't try to seek revenge. Can a Ronin pledge loyalty to another Lord and become a Samurai once again?
Probably not
today i have exam and i watched this i will write about this in dbms exam
You should've used the death not- Oh wait, wrong Kira
I really need to create animations like Ted Ed but have no idea, how ? 😢❤
❤️
They got their revenge and surrendered to authorities right after, badass
F O R G I V E N E S S
Madness! I thought 💭 Hollywood made that up. He’s really called oishi?! ( delicious 😂)
I'm glad that TED introduced Japanese history to people of other countries. However, I say this because I have high expectations of you, the armor is unnatural, and the costumes and background are clearly not Japanese. If you want to visualize the history of the country, you should ask animators from real and original country. If it is not it would be a misrepresentation of the historical perspective, so I feel uncomfortable that people like TED are neglecting this point. Disappointing...
This video reminded Keanu Reeves to me as well. 😆 And me anymore... 👑
What happened with Kira's samurais?
❤❤❤
Raccoon shape-shifting with testicles video suggested at the end had me click on that IMMEDIATELY!
Shor-Sword
Oh, how strange those clothing look!🙄
Who really was guiles de rais
Every anime story ever:
The true story behind the legend of the 47 Rōnin is a tale of samurai loyalty, honor, and the tension between government orders and traditional warrior values. 00:00 🗡 Asano Naganori attacked Kira Yoshinaka in 1701, leading to the legend of the 47 Rōnin in Japan. 00:37 📜 The Tokugawa government aimed to tame the samurai class by transitioning their duties to bureaucratic and administrative roles. 01:04 💀 Officials punished only Asano for attacking Kira, ordering him to commit seppuku and seizing his castle, disbanding his house, and arresting his brother. 01:36 📜 Samurai in Asano's retainer band became masterless after Asano's attack on Kira, leaving them in crisis due to their restricted role in using violence. 02:26 🗡 Asano's samurai debated whether to follow their lord into death or comply with government orders, ultimately deciding to seek revenge on Kira to restore their honor. 03:00 📜 47 samurai, including Horibe and Ōishi, didn't accept the government's terms after their lord's death. 03:22 🗡 Rōnin seek revenge for their lord's death by covertly killing his enemy, presenting the head at his grave, and justifying their violence to Tokugawa officials. 03:56 🗡 The 47 rōnin's actions caused problems for the government, but their story became a legend and was debated for centuries.
As japanese person i love this video!
Amazing video, but the audio is a bit weird, like it was mixed badly, maybe it’s my headphones, but I just tried other videos with this same voice narrator and they were fine.
The way they told it it seems it was a bunch if resentful secretaries that didn't get their awaited promotion, so they rioted.
0:11
😮