Why ONE of the 47 Ronin Survived...

47 samurai avenged their lord and became Japan's greatest legend. Only one of them lived. In 1701, Lord Asano drew his sword on the official Kira inside the Shogun's castle and was ordered to die that same day. His men swore revenge, knowing the law meant death for whoever avenged him. Forty seven signed up, and the lowest of them, Terasaka Kichiemon, wasn't even a samurai, just a foot soldier. On a snowy night in 1703 they stormed Kira's mansion and found him hiding in a charcoal shed. Then 46 of them turned themselves in, and the Shogun ordered them to die. Terasaka walked the other way. Was he sent away with a message, or did he run? Historians still argue. He was pardoned, lived another 44 years, and today his stone stands next to theirs at Sengaku-ji in Tokyo. Sources: Britannica, "Forty-seven Ronin"; Henry D. Smith II, "The Trouble with Terasaka: The Forty-Seventh Ronin and the Chushingura Imagination", Japan Review 16 (2004); Sengaku-ji temple. #47ronin #samurai #japan #history #shorts