47 Ronin a Samurai from Japan (3) 47 Ronin a Samurai from Japan (3) 47 Ronin un Samurai de Japón (3) 47 Ronin un samouraï du Japon (3) 47 Ronin 日本から来たサムライ (3) 47 일본 사무라이 로닌 (3) 47 Ronin: Samuraj z Japonii (3) 47 Ronin um Samurai do Japão (3) 47 Ронін - самурай з Японії (3) 47 浪人 来自日本的武士 (3)

Then the forty-seven ronin went silently through the snow to Lord Kira's mansion. Oishi and Hara took their group to the front gate, and Yoshida with Oishi's son Chikara took their group of men to the back gate.

Outside the mansion they put signs in the streets:

WE, THE RONIN FROM AKO CASTLE, ARE TAKING OUR REVENGE ON KIRA YOSHINAKA TONIGHT, FOR THE DEATH OF OUR DAIMYO, LORD ASANO NAGANORI. WE ARE NOT NIGHT THIEVES AND DO NOT PLAN TO ATTACK OTHER PEOPLE. YOU ARE SAFE IN YOUR HOUSES.

Later, when the neighbours came out into the streets, they saw the signs, and went back into their houses. They did not like Lord Kira, and so did nothing to help him.

At the front gate, four men climbed over the wall, and went silently into the guardroom. They fought the guards and tied them up. Они сражались с охранниками и связывали их. Then they broke down the gate from the inside, and Oishi and his men came into the courtyard. At the same time, at the back gate, Yoshida and Chikara and their men climbed over the wall into the back courtyard. They tied up the guards there; then waited quietly in the snow.

Before the attack began, Oishi sent four men up onto the walls with bows and arrows. The great mansion was still dark and silent, and Oishi whispered his orders.

'Lord Kira's servants are going to try and run away to get help,' he said. 'Watch carefully, and shoot them down at once. Nobody must leave!'

Now everything was ready, and Oishi beat his drum loudly. The sound of the drum told the men at both gates to start the attack at the same moment. The ronin ran through the courtyards and gardens, and broke into the house at the front and the back. 로닌은 안뜰과 정원을 가로질러 앞뒤로 집 안으로 침입했습니다.

By now, everybody in the mansion was awake, and Lord Kira's men, still in their nightclothes, came running with swords and spears and knives. Suddenly, the night was full of noise - men shouting, the sound of sword against sword, the cries of women and children...

In the great front room of the mansion, the fighting was very fierce. Three of Kira's samurai, all famous swordsmen, fought for a long time, and Oishi's men could not get past them into the rooms behind. But the ronin fought hard too, and in the end Hara and two other ronin killed the three samurai. Then Oishi's men moved on into the next rooms.

At the other end of the long mansion, the fighting was also fierce. One of Kira's samurai attacked Yoshida, and jumped in under Yoshida's sword arm with his knife. 吉良の武士の一人が吉田を攻撃し、ナイフで吉田の剣の腕の下に飛び込んだ. 키라의 사무라이 중 한 명이 요시다를 공격했고, 칼을 들고 요시다의 검 팔 아래로 뛰어들었습니다. Yoshida fell back, but Horibe was right behind the samurai, and cut him down with his long sword. Then the two ronin moved on into the next room.

Soon there was fighting in every room. Lord Kira's men fought bravely, but the ronin were fierce and deadly. Many men died, and some were hurt, but not one of the ronin died that night.

In every room Oishi and his men looked for Lord Kira, but he was never there. At last the two groups of ronin met in the middle of the mansion, and the fighting came to a stop. Seventeen of Kira's guards and samurai were dead, and the others ran away. Women and children sat in the corners of rooms, crying.

Oishi called out to Yoshida, 'Kira? Where is he?'

'I don't know,' called Yoshida. 'He wasn't in the rooms at the back of the house when we came through.' '우리가 들어갔을 때 그는 집 뒤쪽 방에 없었습니다.'

'What about the family living rooms?' '가족 거실은 어때요?' called Horibe. 'Let's look in there again.'

'We can't lose Kira now!' shouted Okuda. 'Come on!'

The ronin began to feel afraid. Where was Lord Kira? Was he still in the mansion somewhere? Or did he escape when the fighting began? They ran through the family rooms, looking everywhere. In Kira's sleeping-room Oishi put his hand on the bed-clothes.

'They're warm!' he shouted. 'The bed-clothes are still warm - he was here not long ago! Find him!'

CHAPTER FIVE

The Revenge

Oishi sent his men, in four groups, to look everywhere - in the house, the kitchens, the gardens, the courtyards, the guardrooms, under the floors...

In the courtyard by the north wall, three of the ronin found a wood store. One of them, Hazama, went inside, and pushed his spear deep into the wood. There was a sudden cry, from under the wood. Immediately, the three ronin began to pull the wood out, and very quickly they found an old man, dressed in white nightclothes.

'Old man, what is your name?' said Hazama.

The old man said nothing. He sat on the snowy ground, with his hands over his face.

'It's him,' said one of the ronin. 'Quick - blow your whistle.'

When they heard the whistle, all the ronin came running, with Oishi at the front. 호루라기 소리가 들리자 오이시를 선두로 모든 로닌이 달려왔습니다.

Oishi carried a light, and held it near the old man's face. 'Yes, it's Kira,' he said to his men. 'See - here, on his head, that old cut. It was a cut made by a sword... Lord Asano's sword. It's in the right place.' '올바른 위치에 있습니다.

Oishi stood up, and bowed deeply to the old man.

'Lord Kira Yoshinaka, we are the samurai of Asano Naganori. We are loyal men, loyal to our master, and so we are here tonight to take revenge for his death. 우리는 주인에게 충성하는 충성스러운 사람들이며, 오늘 밤 그의 죽음에 대한 복수를 하기 위해 이 자리에 모였습니다. Lord Asano committed seppuku, and so we ask you, Lord Kira, to commit seppuku too - to die bravely, with honour.'

On the ground in front of Kira, Oishi carefully placed a long knife.

'Here, Lord Kira, is a knife. Lord Asano's knife.'

But the old man did nothing. He sat on the ground, shaking from head to toe, not speaking. 그는 바닥에 앉아 머리부터 발끝까지 몸을 떨며 말을 하지 않았습니다. Again and again, Oishi asked him to commit seppuku. Again and again, he showed him Lord Asano's knife. 그는 몇 번이고 아사노 경의 칼을 보여주었다. But Lord Kira did not move or put out his hand to take the knife. He did not want to take the road to death with honour. 그는 명예롭게 죽음의 길을 가고 싶지 않았습니다.

At last, Oishi Yoshio stood up. He bowed again to Lord Kira; then he drew his sword and cut off Lord Kira's head. The ronin put a coat around the head and tied it to a spear. Ронин накинул на голову плащ и привязал его к копью. It was three o'clock in the morning, and their long wait for revenge was finished. Было три часа ночи, и их долгое ожидание мести было закончено.

'And now,' said Oishi, 'we must leave at once and take the head to Lord Asano's grave at Sengaku-ji. А теперь, - сказал Оиси, - мы должны немедленно уехать и отнести голову на могилу господина Асано в Сэнгаку-дзи. We must do this last thing for Lord Asano, and then we are ready for death.

'But before we leave,' he said, 'we must put out the house fires. Но прежде чем мы уедем, - сказал он, - мы должны потушить пожар в доме. We don't want to start a fire in the city.' The house was full of dead bodies and crying women, and there was no one to take care of things. 집 안에는 시체와 울부짖는 여자들로 가득했고, 아무도 일을 처리할 사람이 없었습니다. Дом был полон трупов и плачущих женщин, и некому было позаботиться о вещах. Edo was a city of buildings made of wood, and fire was a terrible danger. Эдо был городом деревянных зданий, и пожар представлял собой страшную опасность.

They put out the fires, and forty-six ronin left the mansion. The forty-seventh ronin, a young man called Terasaka, was now on his way to Hiroshima. 마흔일곱 번째 로닌인 테라사카라는 청년은 이제 히로시마로 향하고 있었습니다. Сорок седьмой ронин, молодой человек по имени Терасака, сейчас находился на пути в Хиросиму. Oishi sent him there to take the news of the attack to Daigaku, the brother of Lord Asano.

Two of the ronin carried the spear with Lord Kira's head, and Oishi walked in front, with Yoshida on one side and Chikara on the other side.

They began their long walk to Sengaku-ji. And in the streets of Edo, people came out of their houses to watch. 그리고 에도의 거리에는 사람들이 집 밖으로 나와 구경했습니다.

CHAPTER SIX

The Punishment

The Asano family graves were next to the temple at Sengaku-ji, and it was a ten-kilometre walk there from Kira's mansion. The ronin were afraid of attack from the Uesugi guards, so they kept away from Edo Palace and walked on the eastern side of the Sumida River until the Eitai bridge. Опасаясь нападения стражников Уэсуги, ронины держались в стороне от дворца Эдо и шли по восточной стороне реки Сумида до моста Эйтай. Then they crossed the river. Oishi sent two of the ronin to Edo Palace, to take the news of the ronins' revenge to the government.

In the first light of day more and more people came out into the streets - talking and whispering about the killing of Lord Kira and the revenge of the forty-seven ronin. The news ran like fire through the city.

And the people liked the news. 'What brave men!' they said. 'What loyal samurai! These ronin waited nearly two years to take their revenge! That is the samurai code! They are true samurai, like in the old days.'

The ronin passed Zojo-ji temple, and began to climb the hill to Sengaku-ji. When they arrived at the temple, they washed Lord Kira's head in the well (you can see the well to this day at Sengaku-ji). Придя в храм, они омыли голову владыки Киры в колодце (этот колодец и по сей день можно увидеть в Сэнгаку-дзи).

Then, slowly and carefully, Oishi placed the head in front of Lord Asano's grave. The forty-six ronin kneeled before the grave, and Oishi spoke these words: 'For many years, Lord Asano, we served you, we ate your food, we lived in your castle. You tried to kill your enemy, but you lost your life. Вы пытались убить своего врага, но потеряли свою жизнь. We could not live under the same sky as your enemy. Мы не могли жить под одним небом с вашим врагом. Last night we finished your work, and took revenge for your death.

'Young and old, we, the ronin of Ako, are your loyal servants. We serve you, by sword and by spear, in life and in death.' '우리는 칼과 창으로, 살아서나 죽어서나 주님을 섬깁니다.'

***

For two days Kira's head lay on Lord Asano's grave at Sengaku-ji. Then the temple priests took it away and sent it back to his family.

The Shogun's officers arrested the forty-six ronin and took them to the mansions of four different daimyo. 쇼군의 장교들은 마흔여섯 명의 로닌을 체포하여 네 명의 다이묘 저택으로 데려갔습니다. Офицеры сёгуна арестовали сорок шесть ронинов и доставили их в особняки четырех разных даймё. There, the ronin waited to hear their punishment. Там ронины ожидали своего наказания. Oishi, with sixteen of his men, went to the Hosokawa mansion near Sengaku-ji. To honour them, 1,400 samurai walked with them through the snowy streets, and the people of the city watched. 이들을 기리기 위해 1,400명의 사무라이가 눈 덮인 거리를 함께 걸었고, 도시 사람들은 이를 지켜보았습니다. В честь них 1400 самураев прошли с ними по заснеженным улицам, а жители города наблюдали за происходящим.

Now came a difficult time for the Shogun and the government. 이제 막부와 정부에 어려운 시기가 찾아왔습니다. Наступило трудное время для сёгуна и правительства. Killing was a crime, and in those days the punishment for that crime was to cut off the head. But a death like that was a death without honour.

Many people said this: 'The ronin are good samurai - brave men, loyal to their master. They were right to kill Kira and to take revenge for their lord's death. They followed the samurai code of honour, so they must have a samurai death.'

But other people thought differently, and said this: 'Lord Asano attacked Lord Kira in the palace, and Asano died because of this crime. Lord Kira did not kill him, so there was no need for revenge. Лорд Кира не убивал его, поэтому мстить не было необходимости. This was not a revenge killing, and the ronin are just killers. So they must die a killer's death.'

The government could not agree on the punishment. Правительство не смогло договориться о наказании. For weeks they talked and argued, asked this person and that person, talked and argued again. 몇 주 동안 그들은 이야기하고 논쟁하고, 이 사람에게 물어보고, 저 사람에게 물어보고, 또 이야기하고 논쟁했습니다. The ronin waited quietly in the four daimyo houses. They waited for death, one way or another. 그들은 어떤 식으로든 죽음을 기다렸습니다.

At last, one day in March 1703, many weeks after the death of Kira, the order came from the Shogun's palace. The ronin must die, but because of their loyalty to their lord, they could die the samurai death. They could commit seppuku and keep their honour as samurai.

That same day, in the four daimyo mansions, the ronin got ready for death. One by one, in the courtyards of the mansions, the forty-six ronin committed seppuku. Their bodies were put in graves at Sengaku-ji temple, close to their master, Lord Asano Naganori.

The forty-seventh ronin, Terasaka, arrived back from Hiroshima after the death of the other ronin. He went at once to Edo Palace, and asked for the same death as the other ronin. But he was a young man, and the Shogun felt sorry for him. Но он был молодым человеком, и сёгун пожалел его. So Terasaka did not commit seppuku. He lived to the great age of eighty-three, but when he died, he wanted to be with the other ronin. Он дожил до великого возраста - восьмидесяти трех лет, но, умирая, хотел быть вместе с другими ронинами. So his grave is the forty-seventh grave at Sengaku-ji. Таким образом, его могила стала сорок седьмой могилой в Сэнгаку-дзи.

Sengaku-ji today

Three hundred years later, people in Japan are still talking and arguing about the story of the Forty-Seven Ronin. Every year, on December 14, there is a festival at the Sengaku-ji temple to remember Lord Asano's death and the revenge of his brave, loyal ronin. Thousands of people come every year to this festival. The way of the samurai is not forgotten.