CHUSHINGURA

in full Kanadehon Chushingura (Japanese: Copybook of the Treasury of Loyal Retainers), also called The Loyal Forty-seven Ronin, classic play cycle of the Japanese kabuki theatre. The kabuki drama was adapted from an original written about 1748 for the puppet theatre (bunraku) by Takeda Izumo with Namiki Sosuke (Senryu) and Miyoshi Shoraku. In 11 acts it dramatizes the incidents that took place from 1701 to 1703, when 47 ronin (masterless samurai) waited two years before avenging themselves on a man who had forced their overlord to commit suicide. Because of the great length of the drama, many shorter versions have been produced. It has also been the basis of a number of popular films. A translation by Donald Keene, Chushingura: The Treasury of Loyal Retainers, was published in 1971.