Asano's retainers break into Kira's mansion on January 30, 1703, and kill him in revenge.

They then surrender themselves to the shogunate authorities and on March 20 are ordered to commit seppuku for the murder.

The Tokugawa shogunate condemns the grandson of Yoshinaka to death for being incapable of protecting his family like a samurai; the Kira are also dispossessed and loss the rank of koke.

After the death of Uesugi Tsunakatsu, the revenues of the Uesugi are reduced from three hundred thousand koku to one hundred and fifty thousand koku.

On the other hand, the brother of Asano Naganori is reestablished, receiving a revenue of five thousand koku and the rank of hatamoto.

One noted Japanese scholar described the tale of the Forty-seven Ronin as the country's "national legend." ("Kanadehon"; Columbia University.)

It recounts the most famous case involving the samurai code of honor, bushidō.

With much embellishment, this true story will be popularized in Japanese culture as emblematic of the loyalty, sacrifice, persistence, and honor that all good people should preserve in their daily lives.

Fictionalized accounts of these events, written some fifty years after the actual event, are known as Chūshingura.

The popularity of the almost mythical tale will only be enhanced by rapid modernization during the Meiji era of Japanese history, when it is suggested many people in Japan longed for a return to their cultural roots.