In the year 1701, by the Western calendar, several daimyo, or feudal lords, were asked to take part in a reception for the Emperor in Edo. One of these daimyo was Asano Takumi-no-Kami Naganori, the young leader of a branch of the powerful Asano family.

On April 14th, 1701, while Lord Asano was preparing for the event, he found himself out of favor with the master of protocol, Kira Kozuke-no-Suke Yoshinaka. Kira decided to publicly embarrass Lord Asano, something Asano took great exception to. Asano, in anger, drew his sword and struck Kira, but only wounded him.

It was against the law to not only draw your sword within the Shogun’s Palace, but also to strike anyone in anger, a double whammy against Asano. He was forced to commit seppuku, or ritual suicide, dying only with the regret that he hadn’t killed Kira.

With the death of Lord Asano his followers were left without a leader, becoming masterless samurai, or Ronin.

Now this is where things get interesting. Most people believe that bound by the code of bushido, the 47 ronin should have immediately attempted to avenge their master, regardless of the cost, including each of their lives, but they didn’t do this. They waited.

For nearly two years they acted as farmers and merchants and waited for Kira to believe they wouldn’t attempt to avenge their master, increasing their odds of success. And on the night of December 14th, 1702, using armor and weapons they had crafted themselves in order not to arouse suspicion, they attacked.

The 47 men descended on Kira’s mansion and cut down any man that stood in their way; many of Kira’s men lost their lives. As things quieted down Kira was nowhere to be found, and the men spread out to find him. After an exhausting and fruitless search the men found a secret courtyard hidden behind a banner on a wall and in the courtyard they found a man hiding in a coal shed. The man wouldn’t give his name, but the scar on his head told them it was Kira.

Oishi Kuranosuke Yoshio, Lord Asano’s principal counselor, offered Kira the same dagger Asano had used to commit seppuku and told him he would act as his Kaishakunin, or second. Meaning that as Kira committed seppuku, Oishi would sever his head so he wouldn’t have to suffer long. Kira refused to respond and eventually the ronin was forced to behead him.

The ronin carried Kira’s head to Sengakuji temple, the burial site of Lord Asano, washed his head in a well, and presented the head at the grave of their master.

Though the ronin had followed the code of bushido, the shogunate was bound by law to sentence them to death. Each committed seppuku, and were buried alongside their master at Sengakuji Temple.

This story is well known throughout Japan, and all over the world, as an example of loyalty, honor, and self-sacrifice.

The temple grounds are small, and to some, architecturally unimpressive. It’s the history behind this place that make it, in my opinion, a must see for anyone traveling to Tokyo.

A small fountain to honor the 47 ronin with an accompanying layout to show where each man is symbolized.

You can see in this photo that when I was visiting it was raining. I’d arrived early in the morning and was the only one on the grounds besides a gentleman selling incense for placement at the graves, the museum keeper, and the crows. A great atmosphere.

Another small layout of the graves. I try to include things like this so people can read the signs and displays as if they were actually visiting. And to be honest, it gives me something to refer back to later when my memory isn’t so fresh.

These headstones were outside of the main burial area and are of a different style than that of the 47 ronin. I’m not sure who these markers belong to, but if anyone knows please leave the information in the comments.

These are the headstones of the 47 ronin. I love the style of these headstones. The look of the rough cut, like they’ve been torn from the rock, while having the name of the individual carved into a smooth stone surface. Seriously, it’s pretty damn stylish.

You can see that in front of the headstones their is a small area where incense is normally burning. Because there was a constant light rain I wasn’t able to capture the incense burning, but normally this area would be filled with smoke.

Just before reaching the main resting place there was a small shack with a guy selling bundles of incense for placement at the graves. I didn’t buy any on this trip but I’ll have to the next time I’m in town.

This is Oishi’s grave, it is a bit larger I imagine due to his status as the leader of the 47 ronin. As a side note, you can see a small blue-green and white cup in front of the headstone. I bought a set of these cups at a small gift shop just outside the temple grounds. They’re one of my favorite souvenirs from my trips to Japan.

This is the well where the ronin washed the head of Kira before presenting it at Asano’s grave. They’ve put a mesh guard over it to keep people from tossing things into it, which is too bad, I would have liked to get an unobstructed picture. Still, it’s a powerful thing to see the actual well where Kira was washed over 300 years ago.

There’s a small museum on the grounds that has the actual armor worn during the attack, a receipt for the head of Kira when it was collected by two of Kira’s friends, and many other important items from the events, and they can all be seen for just ¥500.

I’m a huge fan of Sengakuji Temple and the story of the 47 ronin. To me it’s the story of ultimate loyalty, and I had to see it when I arrived in Tokyo. I highly recommend stopping by, you’ll only need an hour or so, but it’s an hour you won’t soon forget.

Open: Daily from 7:00AM to 6:00PM (7:00AM to 5:00PM from October to March).
The memorial museum is open from 9:00AM to 4:00PM.
Admission: Free for temple grounds and burial site. ¥500 for the memorial museum.
Phone: 03-3441-5560

Here’s a short video I took while visiting Sengakuji Temple. Sorry about my rambling, I never know what to say to the camera, eventually I learn to just shut up.

I first learned about this museum from a post by Shane Sakata when she was writing for The Tokyo Traveler. Shane writes at The Nihon Sun now if you want to follow her current adventures. So anyway, Thanks Shane!

Here’s the sign you’re looking for if you’re walking to the museum. I knew the general area of the museum but still got lost on the way there, I happened to look up and there it was.

And here’s the entrance, just another visual reference if you’re trying to find this place.

When you walk into the main exhibit you’re actually situated above the village. You can see there’s a cat on one of the roofs, it’s animatronic, it turns its head and meows occasionally. There are a lot of little details like this that make this exhibit great. At different times you can hear a vendor shouting about his wares through the village, and the sound of birds can be heard as well.

I did some looking around online when I decided to stop by the museum and several travel sites suggest a half hour to an hour for this museum, though I think I was here for about two hours. Also, the village slowly changes from day to night and back again over the course of an hour, with one entire wall showing the sun, moon or the sunset or sunrise, and all the lights dim or brighten as well. Great for atmosphere, a little hard to take photos in. : )

I would recommend bringing a tripod or at least a monopod with you for photos. I ended up wrapping my Gorillapod around the handle of my umbrella as an impromptu monopod for these photos. It worked out pretty well.

Don’t be afraid to kick off your shoes and wander through the houses. I didn’t realize I could do this until after I left the museum and I’m kicking myself for it now. So wear clean socks and get exploring.

This was one of my favorite buildings, the vegetable market. It just had a nice open feel and had plenty of color from the different produce within.

The photos make it look like this place is a ghost town, but there were plenty of people here, including a tour group, I just timed my shots to have no people. Nothing like a guy in a Green Bay Packers jacket in your shot to destroy the feel of old Edo.

Here’s the aforementioned changing wall, currently it’s sunset. At the bottom of the wall is a small water filled area with an old boat in it. The attention to detail in this place is just unreal.

And for the sake of completeness I included a scan of my entrance ticket, front and back. It appears there is a map on the back of the ticket, useful.

So all in all one of the best museum experiences I’ve ever had, and I’ve been to quite a few, I think mostly due to the uniquness of the exhibit, and the immersion you experience. There is a printed guide in English that tells you what you’re looking at, as well as English speaking guides, as in people, inside the exhibit so don’t be discouraged if you don’t speak Japanese. If you’re a history buff or wish you could step onto a Kurosawa set then this is a must see.

Open: 9:30am – 5:00pm
Closed: The second and fourth Monday of each Month.
Price: Adults: ¥300 – Under 15: ¥50
Location: 15 minutes on foot from Morishita Station on the Shinjuku Line; 3-5 minutes on foot from Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station on the Oedo Line. Located off Kiyosumi Dori on a street called Fukagawa Shiryokan Dori.
Tel: 03 3630 8625

Why is this cool? Well, just look at the building. Not only is it one of those buildings that you just can’t seem to stop taking pictures of, but you can head inside and go to the top of one of the 48 story towers, for free. You would think that a building that cost about one billion dollars in tax payer money might want to recoup some of that by at least charging tourists to take the elevator, but you’d be wrong. Free.

Before heading to the top you should swing by the tourist information center and pick up the free maps and guides that are available. One of the maps I grabbed here has returned to Tokyo with me more than once.

When you reach the observatory you’ll find a wide open space with unbelievable views of Tokyo, a cafe, and of course, a souvenir shop. If you come early in the morning on a clear day you can sometimes see Mt Fuji in the distance. I’ve only ever seen the outline, or shadowy shape, of Mt Fuji from here, but I’ll keep trying. If you’ve been lucky enough to get a shot of Mt Fuji from one of the observation decks, please leave a link to your shot in the comments, I’d love to see it.

Another nice thing about the observation decks is that they’re open late, really late, try 11:00PM late, so you can get great shots of Tokyo at night as well. So if you’re putting together an itinerary for your first, or next, trip to Tokyo, make sure you add the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, it’s free and it’s worth it.

Open:      9:30AM – 11:00PM (Admission until 30 minutes before closing)
South Observatory opens until 5:30PM (Until 11:00PM if North Observatory is closed)
Closed:    South Observatory: 1st and 3rd Tuesday
North Observatory: 2nd and 4th Monday
Open if the above day falls on a public holiday and closed on the following day.
Closed from December 29 to 31, January 2 and 3, and on TMG Building inspection days.
Observatory Information Desk – 03-5320-7890

Here’s a short video I took from one of the observation decks when I visited with my friends Luke and Travis.