Changes

The picture that arises from the historical record is that of a rather typical Edo period samurai/bureaucrat, little better or worse than his peers whose ‘big mistake’ was in being assigned the surly Asano as a student.  

The picture that arises from the historical record is that of a rather typical Edo period samurai/bureaucrat, little better or worse than his peers whose ‘big mistake’ was in being assigned the surly Asano as a student.  

Kira had served the Shogunate in matters of ceremony for about 40 years, having been part of a group of families called koke (‘high families’) that had been responsible for ceremonial matters from the start of the [[Tokugawa period]]. His family was descended from the [[Ashikaga clan]] branch of the Seiwa Genji and was distantly related to the Mikawa Tokugawa. As with many [[hatamoto]], Kira’s status was high but his income low (4200 koku). Kira was highly regarded by the Shogunate and at age 22 was given the duty of congratulating [[Emperor Reigen]] on his succession., for which he was praised by the Shogunate and bestowed with lower 4th court rank by the Emperor. Kira’s one year old son was also made successor to Uesugi Tsunakatsu (Kira’s brother-in-law, who had died without an heir). Ronin supporters have stated that Kira had poisoned Uesugi, but there is no historical evidence to support this claim and does not appear to have been an issue at the time. Kira was further honored when his son (now Uesugi Tsunanori) was permitted to marry Sakaehime, the sister of Tokugawa Tsunanori (the successor of the house of [[Kii province|Kii]]). Tsunanori later became Shogun [[Tokugawa Tsunayoshi|Tokugawa Tsunayoshi’s]] son in law, giving Kira family relations with the Shogun. Kira continued to receive promotions and successfully served Tsunayoshi, a rather demanding ruler, for twenty years. Kira was remembered fondly by many in his hometown as he was responsible for building many public works.  

Kira had served the Shogunate in matters of ceremony for about 40 years, having been part of a group of families called koke (‘high families’) that had been responsible for ceremonial matters from the start of the [[Tokugawa period]]. His family was descended from the [[Ashikaga clan]] branch of the Seiwa Genji and was distantly related to the Mikawa Tokugawa. As with many [[hatamoto]], Kira’s status was high but his income low (4200 koku). Kira was highly regarded by the Shogunate and at age 22 was given the duty of congratulating [[Emperor Reigen]] on his succession, for which he was praised by the Shogunate and bestowed with lower 4th court rank by the Emperor. Kira’s one year old son was also made successor to Uesugi Tsunakatsu (Kira’s brother-in-law, who had died without an heir). Ronin supporters have stated that Kira had poisoned Uesugi, but there is no historical evidence to support this claim and does not appear to have been an issue at the time. Kira was further honored when his son (now Uesugi Tsunanori) was permitted to marry Sakaehime, the sister of Tokugawa Tsunanori (the successor of the house of [[Kii province|Kii]]). Tsunanori later became Shogun [[Tokugawa Tsunayoshi|Tokugawa Tsunayoshi’s]] son in law, giving Kira family relations with the Shogun. Kira continued to receive promotions and successfully served Tsunayoshi, a rather demanding ruler, for twenty years. Kira was remembered fondly by many in his hometown as he was responsible for building many public works.  

The biggest charge made against Kira seems to be that he expected expensive gifts from Asano (or as the early 20th century historian Murdoch terms it without any supporting evidence, ‘had an itch in his palm’) and, not having received any, proceeded to belittle and withhold information from the Ako daimyo. However, there exists no contemporary evidence whatsoever that Kira was angered over not receiving gifts, and for that matter, that Asano failed to present him with any in the first place. The charge of Kira insisting on bribes first appears in [[Gijin Roku]] and its author, the philosopher Muro Kyuso, also invents a fictional encounter between Kira and Asano where Kira refers to the Ako lord as a ‘country bumpkin’. Bito Masahide and other Japanese scholars have called Gijin Roku “filled with inaccuracies” and “the information he (Muro) was able to obtain already consisted of fictional elements”. The stories in Gijin Roku were eagerly accepted by playwrights and novelists and became accepted over time as fact. Tokutomi, who generally looked for primary source material, could only find [[Tokugawa Jikki]] as a source for Kira’s ‘evil’ conduct. This work was written over a century after the event and lacks any sort of historical foundation, being instead the opinions of the book’s compiler.  

The biggest charge made against Kira seems to be that he expected expensive gifts from Asano (or as the early 20th century historian Murdoch terms it without any supporting evidence, ‘had an itch in his palm’) and, not having received any, proceeded to belittle and withhold information from the Ako daimyo. However, there exists no contemporary evidence whatsoever that Kira was angered over not receiving gifts, and for that matter, that Asano failed to present him with any in the first place. The charge of Kira insisting on bribes first appears in [[Gijin Roku]] and its author, the philosopher Muro Kyuso, also invents a fictional encounter between Kira and Asano where Kira refers to the Ako lord as a ‘country bumpkin’. Bito Masahide and other Japanese scholars have called Gijin Roku “filled with inaccuracies” and “the information he (Muro) was able to obtain already consisted of fictional elements”. The stories in Gijin Roku were eagerly accepted by playwrights and novelists and became accepted over time as fact. Tokutomi, who generally looked for primary source material, could only find [[Tokugawa Jikki]] as a source for Kira’s ‘evil’ conduct. This work was written over a century after the event and lacks any sort of historical foundation, being instead the opinions of the book’s compiler.