Beyond the main gate, which was rebuilt in 1832, the middle gate of Sengaku-ji can be seen

The middle gate of Sengaku-ji Temple seen beyond the main gate

Even if they do not know what religious sect Sengaku-ji Temple belongs to, many people know that it houses the graves of the Forty-seven ronin who appear in the Chushingura story. Indeed, in addition to the graves of the Forty-seven Ronin, there is also the "Ako Gishi Memorial Museum," which houses and exhibits items related to the Forty-seven ronin, so the image of the Forty-seven Ronin is inevitably attached to the temple.

The reason why the Forty-seven ronin came to Sengaku-ji Temple after the raid was to offer the head of Kira Yoshinaka to the grave of their late lord, Asano Naganori. In other words, the head was taken from Kira's residence in Ryogoku and brought to Sengaku-ji Temple in Takanawa. It is a little scary to imagine a group of people walking in a hurry with a fresh head in their hands. It is a group of people I would not want to meet if possible.

As the term "head inspection" suggests, in Japan, war success has long been judged by the head of the vanquished enemy general. This is probably why the Forty-seven ronin also took Kira Yoshinaka's head. This episode, which is not so strange to Japanese people, gives a completely different impression to foreigners. To foreigners, this is nothing more than simple headhunting. The word "headhunters" conjures up images of barbarians living in some remote place in Japan, but the Japanese who used to cut off the heads of enemy generals are more than enough headhunters in the eyes of the world.

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