Kanadehon Chushingura

Chūshingura (仮名手本忠臣蔵, Kana dehon Chūshingura^?) is an 11-act bunraku puppet play composed in 1748. It is one of the most popular Japanese plays, ranked with Zeami's Matsukaze, although the vivid action of Chūshingura differs dramatically from Matsukaze

During this portion of the Edo period, the major dramatists preferred not to write for the kabuki theater since the kabuki actors frequently departed from the texts to invent parts and aggrandize their own roles; however, Chūshingura was so successful that it was almost immediately adapted for the kabuki theater as well.

The general story has been depicted in many mediums such as ukiyo-e prints.

The kabuki adaptation appeared shortly after the puppet play did in Osaka & Kyoto, and soon was being performed by 3 companies in Edo. It is "only intermittently faithful" and frequently cuts entire acts. The saved time is available for a lengthier 11th act, with a sequence featuring a duel on a bridge; as well, the kabuki theater could use a revolving stage to switch between scenes of the siege in Act 9. The short sequence with the highwayman Sadakurō has been developed into an elaborate mime, rendering it a "coveted assignment" for ambitious actors.

On 20 March 1703, the 46 rōnin were ordered to commit seppuku by the shogun. 2 weeks later, a kabuki play opened in Edo. It was entitled Akebono Soga no Youchi ("Night attack at dawn by the Soga [Brothers]"; see Soga Monogatari), a standard topic of plays. It was shut down by the authorities, and is thought to have been a disguised version of the recent events. Perhaps because of the touchiness of authorities, kabuki companies did not attempt any further plays on the subject.

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