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NB THE 1 MARCH 2021 LECTURE HAS BEEN CANCELLED AND REPLACED BY THE LECTURE ON 5 APRIL – TAASA Review March 2021

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This article was originally found in the March 2021 edition of TAASA Review (Volume 30, Issue 1, Page 28).

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5 April 2021 (Easter Monday) 2021 A Dish Best Served Cold: the Akō Incident and the Forty-seven Rōn​ in Russell Kelty Of all the spectacular tales of loyalty, revenge and death none resonates more profoundly than the Akō incident (Akō Rōshi) (1701–03), more commonly known as the revenge of the 47 rōnin.

The Akō incident took place during the ‘golden age’ of the Edo period, known as the Genroku era (1688–1704), when a century of peace fostered a blossoming of art and culture.

It also marked the transition of the samurai from their primary function as warriors to bureaucrats and administrators of regional domains. Tantalising aspects of the incident immediately inspired fictionalised accounts on the puppet (bunraku, jōruri) and kabuki stages in Edo, Kyoto and Osaka, the most famous of which, Treasury of Loyal Retainers (Kanadenhon Chūshingura) is one of the most popular plays of all times...