The 47 Ronin

The 47 Ronin is one of the most famous stories in Japanese history and has been retold in every form of media over the centuries including a recent film of questionable quaility starring Keanu Reeves.

Full details can be found here: The 47 Ronin

Most retellings portray the samurai and their master Lord Asano in a heroic light who epitomize Bushido and villanize Kira.

Am I the only one though that considers Lord Asano an idiot and the revenge misplaced?

Whether or not Kira did anything to provoke Asano is debatable and I think kind of irrelevant. Asano drew his weapon in the Shogun's palace and failed to kill an unarmed old man. Worse for him he knew full well the consequences of his actions. His death and his family losing everything destroying not only him, but the hundreds who relied on him.

Surely he could have picked a better time for his revenge...you know outside of the Shogun's palace. He demonstrated martial inepitude by failing to kill again an unarmed old man. I would hardly think that honorable.

And then you have the 47 samurai. They blame Kira for the whole mess. Yet it was Asano who broke the law despite knowing it and it was the Shogun who had him executed not Kira. Finally, they took a whole year which at least one commentator pointed out "What if Kira...an old man...had died in that year from an accient or sickness?" Then the 47 would be seen as disgraces.

Am I missing something by not seeing the 47 as that heroic or embodiments of Bushido? It strikes me more as a revenge story then the embodiment of the samurai ideal. At least some versions point out Asano's stupidity even if they gloss over it.

You really to have to take into account the culture you're dealing with here. By the standards of the story, Asano would have been justly angered at Kira for being so devoid of courtesy, not to mention his possible corruption while Asano was a devout follower of court etiquette