The 47 Ronin Attack on Kira’s Mansion

Has History Remembered This Incident Correctly?

The 47 Ronin Attacked Kira’s Mansion on January 30, 1703

On the morning of Tuesday January 30, 1703, (14th day of the 12th month by the old Japanese calendar, and the date by which the event is still remembered in Japan) the men of Ako stormed the mansion of Kira Yoshinaka, killing the 62-year-old Master of Protocol. Having cut off the man’s head, they carried it about 14 km through the streets of Edo to the grave of their former master, Lord Asano, at the Sengaku-ji, a temple in the southern districts of Edo. Then, having paid their respects and presented Lord Kira’s head before the grave, they turned themselves in to the authorities.