The "Tadaozo" incident of the Edo period in Japan has a high reputation in Japan and is regarded as one of the representative stories of Japanese samurai culture. Film and television dramas and other derivative works about "Tashizo" are endless in Japan, such as many Japanese Ōkawa dramas with the theme of "Tashizo", which is more than the Muromachi shogunate. So what exactly is this "loyal servant hiding"?
In view of the lessons learned from the Sengoku period and the Azuchi-Momoyama period in Japan, the Edo shogunate established a system of suppressing a large number of daimyō (domains), and "Puko" was one of them. The so-called "universal request" refers to the fact that the Edo shogunate had to force the daimyōs to undertake various projects or activities of the shogunate every year, and all the costs had to be borne by the daimyōs themselves, and the shogunate consumed the economic strength of the daimyōs.
Initially, it was only a construction project, but later expanded to all aspects of the shogunate, and even the reception banquet held by the shogunate had to be "universally invited". In the fourteenth year of Motoroku (1701), the Edo shogun Tokugawa Tsunade ordered the Ako domain lord Asano Nagamasa to receive emissaries from the Emperor and appointed Takagayoshi Yoshiyoshi to direct etiquette and supervision, at Asano Nagamasa's expense.
The Takaya clan was a shogunate official in charge of ceremonies, held by a noble banner samurai who was directly subordinate to the shogun. Kira Yoshiyo was a member of the Same Clan as the Muromachi shogun Ashikaga Clan, and his son was passed over to the Uesugi clan and became the lord of the Yonezawa Domain, still related to the Kii clan, one of the "Imperial Three Families". Kira Yoshiyo therefore humiliated Asano Nagamasa when greeting the Emperor's emissaries, and the two formed a vendetta.
A few days later, Asano Nagamasa slashed and wounded Kira Yoshiyo in General Tokugawa's residence. The Edo shogunate had a rule called "noisy two successes and failures", which meant that no matter what the cause, both sides of the private fight were punished, and Asano Nagamasa and Kira Yoshiyo should also be dealt with in this way. However, the final verdict of the shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was that Asano Nagamasa confiscated the domain and cut off his abdomen, and Kira Yoshiyoshi went home to recuperate.
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi's final verdict was neither in line with the "noisy two-way" nor too biased in favor of Yoshiyoshi Kira. However, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi resolutely refused to change the verdict, and Asano Nagamasa died by cutting his abdomen, and the Asano clan of the Ako Domain perished. Dozens of Ako clan courtiers, led by the head of the family, Ryo Ishizu (Uchizosuke), were extremely dissatisfied with Tokugawa Tsunayoshi's verdict and secretly formed an "Avengers Alliance" to take revenge on the Lord.
After more than a year of preparation and waiting, it was determined that there was no possibility of a resurgence of the Asano clan of the Ako Domain, and the "Avengers" decided to act. On December 15, 1703 (January 31, 1703), forty-six Ako courtiers raided Kira Yoshiyo's mansion at night and cut off kira Yoshiyo's head. After Ako's old courtiers paid tribute to Asano Nagamasa with their first rank, they waited for the shogunate's pursuers to arrive.
After the death of the lord, his vassals wanted to avenge the lord despite their livelihood and the strong strength of the shogunate, and Ako's actions were too much in line with Japanese Bushido culture. Public opinion in Japan at that time was almost one-sided in support of Ako's former ministers, praising them as "unmatched in loyalty and righteousness." Because the leader of Ako's old subjects was Oishi Uchizosuke, the matter was also known as "Tadatoshi Zang".
The "dog lover" Tokugawa Tsunayoshi ordered all forty-six Ako's former ministers to cut off their bellies, which made "Tadano-Zang" a "tragic hero" and received more sympathy and praise. Although many knowledgeable Japanese people pointed out that "Zhongchenzang" was probably a show, the emerging works of art have hyped "Zhongchenzang" into a well-known legend in Japanese folklore, and this is still the case today.