It's called the Sengakuji Temple which is the resting place for the 47 Ronin. Ronin are Samurai without a Lord or Master.
I'll try and summarize the story of the 47 Ronin but I'm also including some links to additional sites and information.
The story takes place from March 1701 to February 1703. The Samurais' Master was a Lord Asano. Lord Asano was continuosuly provoked and insulted by another lord called Kira. The provocation continued until one day in March 1701, Lord Asano drew his sword and struck Lord Kira but he did not kill him. Unfortunately for Lord Asano, he committed this act of violence in Shogun Tokugawa's palace where it was illegal to both draw one's sword and strike someone in anger. The Shogun ordered Asano to commit seppuku or ritual suicide by disembowelment which Lord Asano did. To further add insult, Lord Asano's family was removed from power which made the 47 Samurai Master-less or Ronin.
But althought the Ronin were Master-less, they were not without a leader. Oishi Kuranosuke Yoshio fulfilled this role and with the help of the other Ronin, they plotted their revenge against Lord Kira for a year and a half.
On 14 December 1702, they made a surprise attack on Lord Kira's mansion. I've read different versions of Lord Kira's death (Kira committed seppuku first or the Ronin killed him) but, in the end, the Ronin left with Lord Kira's head.
They returned to Sengakuji Temple and after washing the head in the Well, laid it at the grave of their Master, Lord Asano.
Their revenge complete, the Ronin were allowed to have an honorable death and all committed seppuku on 4-Feb-1703.
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| 05.17.2009 Sengakuji Temple |
The Temple grounds are a fairly somber place as would be expected. It's fairly common for visitors to purchase incense sticks before entering the gravesite and place a burning stick in a holder at each Ronin grave.
Here are a couple of other links that further explain the incident:
Forty-Seven Ronin Wikipedia Article
Website with text and photosYouTube Video
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