Ako Castle shots, but first a quick recap of why the place is so significant. In 1701, Lord Asano, head of the Ako fiefdom, had to go to Edo Castle to perform protocol duties in anticipation of an Imperial visit. He neglected to appropriately bribe the chief protocol dude, Lord Kira, whom proceeded to set Asano up for failure, and mercilessly taunted Lord Asano as a country bumpkin. Finally, on the day of the visit, Lord Asano tried to ask Lord Kira a question, only to be taunted yet again. Enraged, Lord Asano drew his sword (a big no-no within the confines of Edo Castle) and tried but failed to kill Lord Asano.
Lord Asano was sentenced to a shameful death by self disembowelment, and even though the law was both parties in such a conflict were to be punished equally, Lord Kira got off scot-free.
The Asano Clan was disbanded, and the castle turned over to the Tokugawa govt, but Lord Oh-Ishi secretly plotted revenge. Almost two years later, on December 14th 1702, Lord Oh-Ishi led 46 still faithful warriors on a raid of Lord Kira's compound in Edo (now Tokyo) and successfully managed to behead Lord Kira. The 47 warriors then paraded through the streets of Edo to present the head to Lord Asano's grave, then turned themselves in.
The 47 were widely lauded as heroes, and the Tokugawa government knew they couldn't just be put to death as outlaws. So, an honorable death option was chosen, and the 47 committed ritual disembowelment. They are all interned in Tokyo's Sengaku Temple along with Lord Asano.
To this day, numerous plays, movies, and TV shows are produced about the valiant 47 warriors. They are an indelible part of Japan's culture and national psyche.
If one googles 47 Ronin or 47 Samurai, there will be plenty of information.
Lord Oh-Ishi's residence in Ako was just outside the castle perimeter, and has now been converted into a Shinto Shrine bearing his name.
OK, the pix:
Back gate/door to Lord Oh-Ishi's residence. The walls of the residence compound contain the barracks for his personal retainers.
somewhat faded, but you can still make out his name on this signboard
Oh-Ishi Shrine
and the link to the album
s127.photobucket.com/albums/p144/wpb3pan...%20Oh-ishi%20Shrine/