Cold Open

It’s just after midnight on December 14th, 1702, in Edo, the capital of Japan.

25-year-old Hazama Mitsuoki creeps through the moonlit courtyard of a grand mansion, his sword raised high. Blood drips from the steel blade, staining the white snow at his feet.

Almost two years ago, Hazama’s master was forced to kill himself for drawing a weapon in the imperial court. But the man, his master attacked, escaped punishment for his part in the dispute. So, Hazama and 46 fellow samurai have come to Edo to take revenge. But their target has fled his private quarters, and the warriors are now searching a sprawling estate for him.

On the other side of the courtyard, Hazama spots a small wooden shed. He signals to two other samurai at his side and moves quietly toward it.

Hazama grips the shed's small handle and then pulls the door open.

Two white-robed guards emerge from the darkness, swords raised. Hazama and his companions step back, adopting defensive stances, their own blades ready. It’s three against two—there’s no need to rush. So instead, Hazama waits for the enemy to make the first move.

One of the men lunges forward. Hazama parries and throws him off balance.

Then, in one fluid motion, he swivels and slices his sword across the man’s back, dropping him to the snowy ground. Turning with his blade ready, Hazama sees that the second guard has already been cut down by his companions. With the two men dead, Hazama peers into the shed and sees an old man cowering behind a stack of crates. In the dim light, his face is hard to make out.

So, Hazama drags him into the courtyard. The moonlight reveals a distinctive scar across the man’s cheek. It’s Kira Yoshihisa - the man they’ve come here to kill.

Within minutes, Kira Yoshihisa is dead. His severed head is then paraded through the streets of Edo in grim celebration. But the samurai’s quest for vengeance will claim more victims than Kira alone—because all but one of the 47 warriors who raided his mansion will be ordered to forfeit their own lives as well on February 4th, 1703.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham, and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is February 4th, 1703: The 47 Ronin.

Act One: The Ako Incident

It’s just before midday on March 14th, 1701, in Edo Castle, Japan, nearly two years before the death of Kira Yoshihisa.

34-year-old Asano Naganori hurries down a grand wood-lined hallway. Sunlight filters through translucent paper walls, bathing his green jacket in a warm, golden glow. Though Asano despises traditional court attire, today he has no choice but to wear it. He’s been summoned to the capital Edo for an annual ceremony, a ritual exchange of gifts between feudal lords like himself and representatives of the Emperor.

But Asano knows that the Emperor isn’t the one he needs to impress. Although the Emperor is Japan’s nominal leader, real power lies with the Shogun—the supreme military commander and day-to-day ruler of the nation. As the lords of Ako in southern Japan, Asano’s family has served under the shoguns for generations. But Asano himself has earned a reputation at court for his temper, impatience, and his open disdain of lavish ceremonies. To him, honor is forged on the battlefield, not in the stifling rituals of the imperial court. Still, there are some formalities even he can’t avoid.

Rounding a corner, Asano spots an anxious-looking official. He's eager that the ceremony go off without a hitch. So he quickly outlines what's going to happen. Asano will be ushered before the Shogun, ritual greetings will be exchanged, and then he’ll be dismissed.

The official continues speaking, but Asano’s attention drifts, and he barely notices a side door slide open behind him.

A sharp clearing of the throat snaps him back to attention. He spins around to see Kira Yoshihisa, the 60-year-old Master of Ceremonies at the Japanese court.

These two men don’t get along. Kira takes every opportunity to belittle the younger Asano for his lack of sophistication and manners while Asano believes Kira is dishonorable and corrupt.

Eager to avoid any conversation, Asano nods stiffly and turns back to the official who’s been briefing him on the upcoming ceremony. But Kira takes offense at that. As he passes, he mutters a cutting insult, deriding Asano’s entire family as little more than peasants.

For Asano, this is a step too far. Kira has insulted him in front of a witness. And now he must answer for it.

Asano draws his dagger and lunges forward, slashing at Kira’s back. Shocked, Kira stumbles before regaining his footing. He whirls around, his face drained of color. But Asano isn’t done yet. He swings the blade again, slicing Kira’s face. Kira collapses to the floor, blood dripping from his cheek.

Cries from the court official bring guards running. Only then does Asano realize the gravity of what he’s done. Drawing a weapon on palace grounds is a capital offense, punishable by death. Asano has broken imperial protocol, shamed the Shogun, and dishonored his family. Breathing heavily, he surrenders his weapon to the guards without resistance and allows himself to be led away. He knows what will come next.

Just hours later, Asano is told that he must commit seppuku, a form of ritual suicide by disembowelment. But his punishment won’t end there. His lands in southern Japan will be confiscated. His family will be left destitute. And his retainers will be stripped of their positions and reduced to “ronin”, or masterless samurai. There is no appeal, and Asano can do nothing but accept the judgment in silence.

Soon after, he’s led outside the palace to a small dais in a courtyard, where official witnesses are waiting. Wearing ceremonial robes, Asano kneels beneath a black pine tree. The wind gently blows through its branches as the ritual begins.

He opens up his robes, exposing his upper body. From a small stand, he takes a nine-inch dagger and positions the point against his abdomen. Beside him, an executioner raises his sword. And once Asano has plunged the knife into his own belly, this man decapitates him to ensure Asano doesn’t suffer.

The next day, news of Asano’s death reaches his home in Ako. His samurai are stunned. Their lord is gone, and they are now masterless. Their future is uncertain. But rather than blame their misfortune on Asano and his quick temper, they will focus their anger on the man they believe provoked him—the arrogant master of ceremonies, Kira Yoshihisa. And soon, they will begin plotting their revenge.

Act Two: The Raid

It’s midnight on December 14th, 1702, in Edo, Japan, almost two years after Asano Naganori committed seppuku.

Outside Kira Yoshihisa’s mansion, 43-year-old Oishi Yoshio signals his men to divide into two groups. Snow crunches softly beneath their boots as they move into position, but no one speaks. Their dark armor blends into the shadows. There’s no sign that anyone has noticed their approach—and Oishi intends to keep it that way.

Until Asano’s death, Oishi was his most trusted lieutenant. And when news of Asano’s downfall reached Oishi, he formally petitioned for leniency for his master's family, but the Shogun refused to install Asano’s adopted son as his successor. And that left Oishi with no choice but to surrender the family's lands to the Shogun’s forces. This meant that Oishi and the other samurai who had served Asano did not get the chance to serve a new master and instead seemed doomed to live out their days in disgrace as “ronin”.

Oishi quickly reached a grim conclusion. There was only one way to restore their honor—they must avenge Asano’s death by killing Kira Yoshihisa.

So, over the next few months, Oishi quietly gathered 46 other former samurai and led them to Edo. There, they waited. Making homes across the city, they lived modest lives and spread rumors that they had accepted their fate. But it was all just a ruse to throw off any suspicion about their plans. Now, at last, the time has come. And tonight, Oishi and the other ronin will reclaim their honor—or die in the attempt.

As some of the ronin hurry into the rear of the compound, Oishi helps raise two ladders against the mansion’s gates. Four scouts quietly climb up and vanish over the top. A few moments later, the gates swing open. The ronin creep inside, and Oishi pauses to close the gates behind them. There can be no easy escape for their target tonight.

With his plan finally in motion, Oishi removes a drum from his back. He strikes it hard, the beat echoing through the silent night. At this signal, the ronin surge forward, smashing through the mansion’s doors. They tear open sliding partitions, sweeping every room, shouting for Kira to reveal himself. Terrified servants cower in corners. Kira’s white-robed guards draw their swords and try to fight back, but they’ve been caught unprepared and are swiftly cut down.

Eventually, Oishi reaches Kira’s private quarters and throws open the doors. But the room is empty. He crouches and places his palm on the bedding. It’s still warm. So Kira can’t have gone far. Oishi orders his men to spread out and search for an old man with a scar on his face.

Minutes later, a sharp whistle pierces the air from the courtyard. Oishi runs across the snow to find three ronin standing over the bodies of two slain guards. But kneeling between them, trembling in thin robes, is a pale old man. Oishi raises a lantern and holds it close. The light reveals a deep scar carved across the man’s cheek. It’s Kira Yoshihisa.

Oishi takes a breath to settle himself. Then, he kneels in the snow until he’s eye to eye with his enemy. He explains that they are here to avenge their master, whose death Kira was responsible for—but he is prepared to allow Kira to die with honor. Oishi presents the same dagger Asano used to kill himself and invites Kira to do the same. But Kira only sneers, refusing to take orders from men he calls dishonored ronin.

Shaking his head at the old man’s intransigence, Oishi stands and draws his sword. Realizing that escape is impossible, Kira lowers his head. Oishi then swings his blade. With a single stroke, Kira’s head drops into the snow, his frail body crumpling to the ground beside it. At last, Asano Naganori is avenged.

As dawn breaks, the 47 ronin carry Kira’s head through the city of Edo —but despite the early hour, the streets are far from quiet. Word of the attack has already spread. Kira was not a popular man, and many of Edo’s citizens cheer as the ronin pass by, brandishing his head.

Then, just outside the city, the ronin reach Sengakuji Temple. There, they place the gruesome trophy on the tomb of their dead master. Oishi then sends one of the younger ronin to Asano’s widow in Ako to inform her of the success of their mission.

From the temple grounds, Oishi gazes out over the city’s snow-covered rooftops and exhales slowly. Unlike the messenger, he knows he will never return to his home in the south. The Shogun will not forgive what they have done today. All that remains for the ronin is to wait for the authorities to find them and punish them—and hope that they will be granted the same final honor as their master.

Act Three: Chūshingura

It’s February 4th, 1703, at Edo Castle, Japan, a month after the 47 ronin killed Kira Yoshihisa.

The 57-year-old Shogun of Japan summons a councilor to his great hall. Beneath towering wooden beams and gleaming golden arches, this man bows and delivers his report: Oishi Yoshio, the leader of the ronin, has just carried out his sentence and committed seppuku.

The Shogun nods his head in acknowledgment. Reaching the decision to condemn the ronin was not easy. All across Edo, many commoners openly praised the ronin for avenging their master. But at court, Kira’s allies argued just as fiercely that the nighttime raid was lawless violence, not honorable conduct.

The Shogun weighed the arguments carefully. The ronin broke imperial law, and punishment was unavoidable. Yet condemning them as ordinary criminals would have undermined the code that sustained samurai rule. In the end, the Shogun chose a middle path. By ordering the ronin to commit seppuku, he upheld the law while granting them an honorable death—one that satisfied tradition, political necessity, and public sentiment. And now, the matter is settled. All the ronin are dead—except one.

The man who carried word of the mission’s success to Asano’s widow has been spared. Because of his young age and low rank, the Shogun has granted him a pardon.

By the time this last ronin dies, four decades later, the story of his comrades will be famous all across Japan. In the years that follow, their tale of honor and sacrifice will be retold on stage again and again. But even in the modern world, this story will find an eager audience, with dozens of television shows and movies bringing the dramatic events to new generations, long after the deaths of all but one of the ronin on February 4th, 1703.

Outro

Next on History Daily. February 5th, 1985. The mayors of Rome and Carthage sign a treaty of friendship, officially ending the Third Punic War after more than 2000 years.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Mollie Baack.

Music by Thrumm.

This episode is written and researched by Angus Gavan McHarg.

Edited by Scott Reeves.

Managing producer Emily Burke.

Executive Producers are William Simpson for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.