Matsu no Ōrōka

You're standing where one of the most famous corridors in Japanese history once ran. Look for the small stone marker among the trees. Nothing else is left, but in 1701 a wooden passage about fifty metres long stretched through here, its sliding doors painted with pine trees. It led to the hall where the shogun received his lords. Inside the castle, drawing a blade was strictly forbidden. Yet here, in the spring of 1701, Asano Naganori, lord of Akō, pulled his short sword and slashed at Kira Yoshinaka, the official charged with teaching him court etiquette. Kira had insulted him once too often. Kira survived with a wound. Asano was ordered to take his own life that same day. His samurai were left as rōnin, warriors without a master. Almost two years later, on a winter night, forty-seven of them stormed Kira's house and killed him. The shogunate could not decide whether to admire their loyalty or punish their crime. In the end they were allowed to die by their own hand, an honourable death rather than an execution. Their story became Chūshingura, still one of Japan's best-known tales of loyalty. It all began on this small patch of ground.