Bunraku Play Chinshingura: Loyalty - Essay Example

? s Bunraku Play Chinshingura: Loyalty The Bunraku play Chinshingura is the portrayal of Japanese tales that were based on real incidents and elaborate cases of intrigue that took place in the then-Japanese society, but the authorities fearing controversy quickly changed several aspects of the play (p. 1-3). The story was initially portrayed through a puppet play and was titled ‘Kanadehon Chinshingura’; it tells the tale of 47 samurais, who are set out to avenge the death of their master, Hangan. Hangan was provoked by an obnoxious Lord named Morono to draw his sword, which as per Shogun law was punishable by stripping the individual of his title and estate, and then the offender is to commit a ritual suicide called ‘Seppuku’. The play entails several sub-plots and elements, but it primarily emphasizes on the notions of honor and loyalty that pervaded the Japanese society and the play primarily focuses on these traits as the main theme. The protagonist of the play is Yuranosuke, who is the chief retainer of Hangan’s household and wants to fulfill his master’s dying wish to avenge him. Yuranosuke is assisted by a band of retainers, who have sworn allegiance to him and go to severe extremes to help him accomplish his mission; Kampei is one of the most notable retainers, who is unable to make any substantial contribution to the assassination plot, but his devotion to Hangan still moves all the other retainers to include him in the list. Yuranosuke’s loyalty to his master is exhibited through his undying resolve to exact revenge on Morono. Even though, a vendetta in Tokugawa Japan is punishable by ritual suicide, but the retainers remain resolute under Yuranosuke. They are ready to lay down their lives for their Master Hangan, which is a sure sign of their loyalty. Moments before Hangan is ordered to commit Seppuku; ritual suicide, he asks Yuranosuke, to take his dagger after his death, which clearly indicates his wish to be avenged. Yuranosuke, who is both aggrieved and determined to take revenge upon his master’s tormentor, licks the blood off his master’s dagger ; this act to show his dedication to the cause (p. 23). He gathers all the other retainers, who are devoted to cause and secretly starts off the vendetta. The vendetta is a secret mission; therefore he takes every measure to protect it from Morono, who was already suspicious of it. The strength of Yuranosuke’s resolve to proceed with the assassination is very clear as he is willing to do anything to prevent his plan from getting compromised. He even eats fish on his master’s death anniversary; which is considered to be a great religious taboo, but he breaks it just so he could protect his master’s last wish. After their master’s death, the retainers were left without a leader and Yuranosuke, being the chief retainer in Hangan’s household gained the leadership by default. All his fellow retainers were quite dedicated to him and had they not sworn complete allegiance to him, they would not have been able to bring their plans to fruition. The case of the merchant in the play further underscores the lot’s loyalty to Yuranosuke; the merchant had been supplying them with weapons in order to help them with the plot. The merchant had sent his wife off to live with her parents in order to prevent her from finding out about the plan, but in so doing he earned the ire of his father-in-law, who wanted her daughter to marry someone of wealth and constantly forced the merchant to divorce her. Upon seeing his ordeal, Yuranosuke intervenes and cuts off the woman’s lock and prevents her remarriage. This trait is reflected in all of Hangan’s retainers, particularly Kampei as well. He suffers from a lingering guilt for he had abandoned his post in order to meet his lover, with whom he had scheduled daily trysts and when Hangan was being provoked into drawing his sword, he had been with his lover all this while. As a result, Kampei always felt guilty and responsible for his master’s unfortunate death and tried his best to contribute to Yuranosuke’s plot. Although, his loyalty was questioned because of the spies hired by Morono but soon everybody realizes his sincerity in a dramatic event when it is discovered that the money he contributed to the vendetta was accidentally stolen by Kampei from his father-in-law. Kampei ashamed over his actions commits ritual suicide. Moments before he passes away, Kampei’s biggest wish is to have his name on the list of the retainers committed to the vendetta. The play further provides an intriguing glimpse in the moral structure of Tokugawa Japan, which laid great emphasis on loyalty as the society was based on Confucian ideology that required every person to strictly devote themselves and adhere to their master’s biddings. There is no doubt that Kampei and Yuranosuke’s actions in the play were completely in line with Confucian ideals that had Bushido, which were the set of principles that dictated Samurais. As per these principles, Samurais were supposed to live and die with honor, which is why Yuranosuke began the vendetta. If due to any circumstance they were unable to fulfill their master’s wishes, then he should be ready to make up for his mistake by taking his life in an elaborate ritual that came to be known as ‘Seppuku’. Hence, both way the samurai were supposed to die and they believed that accomplishing the mission was an honorable death. Seppuku is a recurring concept in the play as well; Hangan was supposed to perform it and even the retainers, which was the only way one can get absolution for their sins. Not only to one’s master, but such principles applied to any figure of authority in the society and everyone was required to be devoted to the head of the state and respect the sanctity of their lodgings. This explains the harshness of the punishment handed down to Hangan, when he draws his sword in the Shogun palace and dares to kill Morono. Shedding blood in the palace or even intending it is disrupting the peace and considered to be treachery towards one’s master, which was inexcusable. All the retainers involved in the vendetta left their families behind and without giving a single thought about their well-being carried through with the plan, which further highlights the fact that filial piety was rated lower than filial piety. Throughout the play, there weren’t any clashes between filial piety and loyalty, and most of the time it was understood that individual simply had to comply with his master’s wishes. It is true that filial piety formed the groundwork of Confucianism, but as the ideology continued to develop, the virtue of loyalty was expanded on to bigger scale, whereby loyalty to authority was given greater importance in the society. This aspect was reflected in the play and it further showed that a retainer was not only supposed to attend to his master’s every single need, but he as required to exert his influence over every single aspect of his in order to make it more comfortable. Any sort of mishap with one’s master was naturally perceived as negligence on the retainer’s part and therefore, the retainers had a great degree of responsibility around the household. In conclusion, loyalty was a superior virtue and this play carries a deep message regarding this particular trait. For a retainer, their master’s dishonor was their dishonor and as he was wrongly implicated in the situation, there was no other option but for his loyal subjects to avenge him. The play ends on a gloomy note, with the retainers emerging as the victors, but they have to pay the price of their loyalty with life as it is hinted that they all committed Seppuku. In conclusion, the play shows that Tokugawa Japan took matters concerning loyalty very seriously. Yuranosuke had no choice but to comply with his master’s wish, which was the honorable thing to do as per Samurai principles. It shows that a servant is taught to love and respect his master, which is why all 47 of the retainers remained steadfastly together and accomplished the task. Though, it did not end well but the Samurais died satisfied that their master was avenged and they had served their purpose. Work Cited Keene, Donald. Trans. ‘Chinshingura: The treasury of loyal retainers’. New York: Columbia University Press, 1971. 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