Sengaku-ji
Cemetery temple where forty-seven avenging samurai and their lord lie buried beside a legendary well.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Sengaku-ji in Tokyo starts at the well where, as legend has it, forty-seven ronin washed the blood from a severed head one snowy night before laying it at their master's grave. It traces the story back two years, to Lord Asano's public humiliation inside Edo Castle by the court official Kira, and the shogun's order that sent Asano to end his own life while Kira walked free. Oishi Kuranosuke led the ronin, spending nearly two years playing the fool in public to lull Kira's spies before the men made their move.
This audio guide was created using AI.
Similar places
Zojo-ji
Buddhist temple complex with a surviving sixteen-twenties gate and a Tokugawa shogun mausoleum.
Yanaka Cemetery
Hilly public cemetery shaded by a cherry-lined avenue, with historic tombs and the ruins of a burned pagoda.
Aoyama Cemetery
Sprawling public cemetery of cherry-lined paths, historic tombs, and a beloved dog's grave beside his owner's.
Kanda Myoujin Shrine
Vermilion shrine holding the vengeful spirit of a beheaded rebel warlord, prayed to before Japan's decisive battle.
Ueno Park
Sprawling public park built on a former temple battleground, with a lake, museums and a famous bronze statue.
Yasukuni Shrine
Shinto memorial to war dead, its secretly enshrined war criminals still stirring diplomatic protest.