was a kōke

Koke

A was a noble ranking below a daimyo in Japan during the Edo period. Their lands were assessed at less than ten thousand koku, making them ineligible for the rank of daimyo.Unlike hatamoto, whose duties were military, the kōke had certain privileged missions...

(master of ceremonies). His court title was Kōzuke no suke. He is famous as the adversary of Asano Naganori

Asano Naganori

was the daimyo of the Akō Domain in Japan . His title was Takumi no Kami . He is known as the person who triggered a series of incidents retold in a story known as Chushingura, one of the favourite themes of kabuki, joruri and Japanese books and films.He was born in Edo as the eldest son of Asano...

 in the events of the Forty-seven Ronin

Forty-seven Ronin

The revenge of the , also known as the Forty-seven Samurai, the Akō vendetta, or the took place in Japan at the start of the 18th century...

. Although his name (義央) has been long pronounced as "Yoshinaka" especially in dramas and novels, written by an anonymous contemporary in 1703 recorded that his name was "Yoshihisa." Recent findings on Kaō

Kao

Kao may refer to:* Kao, a Japanese term for face., a stylized signature or a mark used in place of a signature in China and Japan* Kao , a crater on the Moon.* Kaō , a Japanese era name* Kao , a film by Michiyo Okusu...

marked on his own letter preserved in confirmed that his real name should be read as "Yoshihisa."

Born in 1641, he was the eldest son of Kira Yoshifuyu. His mother was a member of the high-ranking Sakai clan

Sakai clan

The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Nitta branch of the Minamoto clan, who were in turn descendants of Emperor Seiwa. Serata Arichika, a samurai of the 14th century, was the common ancestor of both the Sakai clan and the Matsudaira clan, which the Sakai later served...

. On the death of his father in 1668, Yoshinaka became the 17th head of the household, inheriting lands evaluated at 4200 koku

Koku

The is a Japanese unit of volume, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres. The koku was originally defined as a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year...

. His wife was from the Uesugi clan

Uesugi clan

The was a Japanese samurai clan, descended from the Fujiwara clan and particularly notable for their power in the Muromachi and Sengoku periods ....

, and his eldest son was adopted by Uesugi Tsunakatsu, the head of the Dewa

Dewa Province

is an old province of Japan, comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. It was sometimes called .-Historical record:...

 Yonezawa

Yonezawa, Yamagata

is a city located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 91,704 and the population density of 167 persons per square kilometer...

 han, taking the name Tsunanori. Yoshinaka named his second son as his heir, but when that heir died, Yoshinaka adopted Tsunanori's second son, strengthening the connection between the Kira and the Uesugi.

As a kōke, Kira oversaw matters of protocol

Protocol (diplomacy)

In international politics, protocol is the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state.A protocol is a rule which guides how an activity should be performed, especially in the field of diplomacy. In diplomatic services and governmental fields of endeavor protocols are often unwritten guidelines...

. In 1701, he was assigned the task of tutoring Asano Naganori

Asano Naganori

was the daimyo of the Akō Domain in Japan . His title was Takumi no Kami . He is known as the person who triggered a series of incidents retold in a story known as Chushingura, one of the favourite themes of kabuki, joruri and Japanese books and films.He was born in Edo as the eldest son of Asano...

 in matters of protocol in preparation for an upcoming visit by representatives of the Emperor

Emperor of Japan

The Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...

. According to the stories, Kira was corrupt and demanded bribes for the tutoring, which Asano refused to pay. Kira then began to publicly insult Asano, calling him an ignorant and unmannered rural boor. On the day when the envoys were scheduled to meet the shogun at Edo Castle

Edo Castle

, also known as , is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan. It is located in Chiyoda in Tokyo, then known as Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa shogunate here. It was the residence of the shogun and location of the shogunate, and also...

, Asano drew his short sword

Wakizashi

The is one of the traditional Japanese swords worn by the samurai class in feudal Japan.-Description:...

 and attempted to kill Kira in retaliation for the insults. For this, Asano was sentenced to commit seppuku

Seppuku

is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...

 and his house abolished, while Kira went unpunished.

On January 30, 1703 (December 14, 15th year of Genroku

Genroku

was a after Jōkyō and before Hōei. This period spanned the years from September 1688 through March 1704. The reigning emperor was .The years of Genroku are generally considered to be the Golden Age of the Edo Period. The previous hundred years of peace and seclusion in Japan had created relative...

 (1702) according to the Japanese calendar

Japanese calendar

On January 1, 1873, Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar. Before 1873, the Chinese style lunisolar calendar had been in use since 7th century. Japanese eras are still in use.-System:...

), Asano's retainers broke into Kira's mansion and killed him in revenge. They then surrendered themselves to the shogunate authorities and were ordered to commit seppuku for the murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

.

The Tokugawa shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

 condemned the grandson of Yoshinaka to death for being incapable of protecting his family like a samurai

Samurai

is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...

; the Kira were also dispossessed and lost the rank of koke. After the death of Uesugi Tsunakatsu, the revenues of the Uesugi were reduced from 300,000 koku to 150,000 koku. On the other hand, the brother of Asano Naganori was reestablished, received a revenue of 5,000 koku and the rank of hatamoto

Hatamoto

A was a samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as gokenin. However, in the Edo period, hatamoto were the upper vassals of the Tokugawa...

.