Essay about Chushingura Chushingura

At the opening of the play shogun Takauiji has killed Yoshida, the famous general of the Minamoto clan, in battle. Takauiji has a shrine built at Kamakura to commemorate his victory and has ordered Yoshida's helmet to be placed in the shrine's treasury. He sends his brother (the imperial envoy in the original historic event) to supervise the inaugural ceremonies, but since forty-seven helmets had been recovered from the battle-field, no one knows for sure which one was Yoshida's. Enya's wife, who had once been an attendant in Yoshida's household, is summoned to identify the helmet. On the day that she comes to inspect the helmets, Moronao (the historical Kira), who has long admired her beauty, slips her a love letter. At this initial encounter Moronao is cordial towards Enya, but angrily insults Wakasa, the other noble in attendance, who has reprimanded Moronao for making advances towards Enya's wife. Lady Kawayo politely rejects Moronao's solicitations, but in doing so she unintentionally causes Moronao to dislike her husband.