The true story behind the legend of the 47 Rōnin - Adam Clulow

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Esther Lam

“Do you remember my grudge from these past days?”

「你還記得我這幾天的怨恨嗎？」

cried Asano Naganori, lord of Akō domain,

赤穗藩的領主淺野長矩呼喊著，

his gaze fixed on Kira Yoshinaka, a senior master of ceremony.

目光緊盯著高家吉良義央， 一位資深的禮儀大師。

Asano extended his short sword, charged through the castle corridor,

淺野伸出他的短刀，衝過城堡走廊，

and struck Kira.

擊中吉良。

While the wound wasn’t fatal, its consequences would be.

雖然傷口並不致命， 它的後果卻是毀滅性的。

The incident took place in April 1701 in Edo, Japan— modern-day Tokyo.

這個事件發生在 1701 年四月，

地點在日本江戶——現今的東京。

The Tokugawa military government had gained power about a century before.

大約一個世紀前， 德川幕府取得權力。

This ushered in a period of peace and stability

這在戰國時代之後帶來了

following the Warring States or Sengoku era,

一段和平且穩定的時期，

which was marked by constant bloodshed and conflict

戰國時代，軍閥及其武士 帶來無盡的流血和衝突。

wrought by warlords and their samurai.

To secure their rule,

為了確保其統治地位， 德川幕府打算約束武士階級。

the Tokugawa government aimed to tame the samurai class.

Individual samurai carried two swords and served a single lord till death,

每個武士會帶著兩把刀，

至死都只追隨服侍一位領主，

but their duties became primarily bureaucratic and administrative.

但他們的職責變成主要是 官僚和行政工作。

Meanwhile, Tokugawa legal practice stipulated that both sides

同時，德川法律規定， 如果發生暴力爭執事件，

would be disciplined in the event of a violent quarrel.

雙方都會受紀律處份。

However, when officials convened following Asano's attack on Kira,

然而，當官員在淺野 攻擊吉良事件後召開會議時，

they decided to punish only Asano, the incident’s perpetrator.

他們決定只懲罰 此事件的行兇者淺野。

They ordered Asano to commit seppuku, or ritual suicide.

他們命令淺野切腹，即進行武士的自殺儀式。

But they didn’t stop there.

但他們並沒有就此停手。

They also commanded the seizure of Asano’s castle,

他們還下令沒收淺野的城堡、

the disbandment of his house, and the arrest of his younger brother.

解散他的家族，並逮捕他的弟弟。

The news traveled quickly back to Asano’s domain.

這個消息迅速傳回到淺野的領土——赤穗藩。

Overnight, the roughly 300 samurai in Asano’s retainer band

一夜之間，淺野約三百名武士家臣

found themselves dispossessed of their homes and stipends

失去了家園和俸祿，

and turned into rōnin, or masterless samurai.

成為浪人，即沒有領主的武士。

They didn’t know why Asano attacked Kira— no one did.

他們不知道淺野為什麼 要攻擊吉良——沒有人知道。

Some have speculated that Asano refused to pay a bribe to Kira,

有些人猜測淺野拒絕向吉良行賄，

who was supposed to be guiding him in proper etiquette,

而吉良本應指導他得體的禮儀，

so Kira humiliated him;

於是吉良羞辱了他；

others, that Asano had simply “gone mad.”

其他人則認為淺野 就只是「發瘋了」。

This left the samurai of Akō domain in crisis,

這讓赤穗藩的武士陷入危機，

facing a tension that lay at the very heart of the Tokugawa period.

面臨德川時代核心的緊張局勢。

They were a privileged class of warriors

他們是特權階級的戰士，

inundated with epic legends of samurai loyalty, heroism, and martial glory.

有一大堆關於武士忠誠、英雄主義，

和武術榮耀的史詩傳說。

But they were forbidden from using violence—

但他們被禁止使用暴力——

their traditional role at once celebrated and restricted.

他們的傳統角色既被讚頌又受限制。

Some of Asano’s samurai said they should peacefully comply with government orders;

淺野的一些武士說，他們應該 和平地遵守政府的命令；

others, that they should immediately follow their lord into death.

其他武士則說，他們應該 立即追隨領主而死。

One faction, led by Horibe Yasubei,

一個由堀部安兵衛領導的派系，

argued that they must see their lord’s apparent wishes through by killing Kira,

主張他們應該實現他們領主 顯而易見的願望：殺死吉良。

claiming that so long as Asano’s enemy was alive,

他們聲稱，只要淺野的敵人還活著，

they were dishonored.

他們就是在蒙受恥辱。

However, the effective leader of Akō domain’s samurai, Ōishi Yoshio,

然而，赤穗藩武士的 實際領導者大石良雄

believed that if they complied with official orders,

認為如果他們遵守官方命令，

Tokugawa authorities might show mercy and permit Asano’s brother to succeed him.

德川當局可能會展現慈悲，

允許淺野的弟弟接替他。

So, the samurai peacefully surrendered the castle.

所以，武士和平地交出了城堡。

But their hopes were dashed when Tokugawa officials placed Asano’s brother

但他們的希望破滅了，

德川政府的官員將淺野的弟弟 交給另外一個家族監管，

in another family’s custody,

leaving them without a path to restore their status.

讓他們失去了恢復地位的途徑。

Most accepted the government’s terms.

大多數人接受政府的條件。

But in the end, 47 of Asano’s samurai, including Horibe and Ōishi, didn’t.

但最後，有四十七名淺野的武士，

包括堀部和大石，不肯妥協。

And instead of formally asking permission to take revenge

他們沒有正式申請通過政府的 復仇制度來進行報復，

via the government’s vendetta system,

they began plotting to kill Kira covertly.

反而開始盤算暗中殺害吉良。

Almost two years after Asano’s death,

淺野死亡快兩年後，

the rōnin, led by Ōishi, broke into Kira’s residence

大石領導的浪人

闖入吉良的住所， 殺死了十六名他的武士，

and killed 16 of his samurai and wounded 23 others

還讓另外二十三名武士負傷，

before beheading Kira himself.

然後砍下了吉良本人的頭。

They presented Kira's head at Asano's grave,

他們將吉良的首級帶到淺野的墳墓，

then surrendered to the Tokugawa officials,

並向德川官員投降，

justifying their violence by saying they couldn't live under the same heaven

他們為此暴力事件的辯解是

他們無法和自己領主的敵人 在同一片天地下共存。

as their lord’s enemy.

The rōnin’s actions created considerable problems for the Tokugawa government.

這些浪人的行為給德川幕府 造成了大量的麻煩。

The rōnin had broken the peace and a range of laws.

這些浪人破壞了和平 並違反了多項法律。

But authorities also knew the importance of honor and loyalty among samurai.

但當局也知道在武士間 榮譽和忠誠有多重要。

After weeks of deliberations, officials decided the rōnin could be praised—

經過數週的商議後，官員決定， 這些浪人可以獲得讚揚，

but must be punished.

但懲罰絕對不能免。

They were permitted to commit seppuku,

他們被允許切腹自殺，

which offered them honorable deaths, and they were laid to rest next to Asano.

這是種有榮耀的死法， 且他們被安葬在淺野旁邊。

But their story soon morphed into legend.

但他們的故事很快轉變為傳奇。

Within weeks, it was dramatized for the stage.

幾週內，它就被改編成舞台戲劇。

And soon after, scholars began debating the rōnin’s actions,

不久之後，學者開始 辯論這些浪人的行為，

some praising them as perfectly loyal and dutiful samurai;

有些人稱讚他們是 百分百忠誠且盡責的武士，

others condemning them as delusional criminals.

其他人則譴責他們是妄想的罪犯。

Over the next three centuries,

在接下來的三個世紀，

Japan continued examining and adapting the story—

日本不斷探究和改編這個故事——

in theater, film, propaganda, and beyond—

用戲劇、電影、宣傳， 及其他方式——

grappling with the tensions between law and culture, past and present,

探討法律和文化之間、 過去和現在之間的緊張局勢，

and repeatedly relitigating the incident

並一再重新爭論這起事件，

long after an official verdict was rendered.

即便官方早已對此作出了判決。