Rōnin
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In feudal Japan to early modern Japan, a rōnin was a samurai who had no lord or master and, in some cases, had also severed all links with his family or clan. A samurai became a rōnin upon the death o
A woodblock print by ukiyo-e master Utagawa Kuniyoshi depicting famous rōnin Miyamoto Musashi having his fortune told
Ukiyo-e woodblock print by Yoshitoshi depicting Oishi Chikara, one of the forty-seven rōnin
Graves of the forty-seven rōnin at Sengaku-ji
Actors portraying ronin on left and right, employed samurai in the middle. His chonmage makes him identifiable as an employed samurai.
Forty-seven rōnin
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The revenge of the forty-seven rōnin, also known as the Akō incident or Akō vendetta, was a historical event in Japan in which a band of rōnin avenged the death of their former master on 31 January 17
Rōnin
…stipend or land. As an indication of the shame felt by samurai who became rōnin, Lord Redesdale recorded that a rōnin killed himself at the graves of the forty-seven rōnin. He left a note saying that he had tried to enter the service of the daimyō of Chōshū Domain but was refused. He killed himself, wanting to serve no…
Revenge of the Loyal Samurai of Akō by Yasuda Raishū (ja) (Homma Museum of Art), with iconography borrowed from the Adoration of the Shepherds
Memorial stone marking the site of the Matsu no Ōrōka (Great Corridor of Pines) in Edo Castle, where Asano attacked Kira
Ukiyo-e showing Ōishi signaling an attack by beating a drum. By Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.
The rōnin attack the principal gate of Kira's mansion