Chushingura
	Act V The remainder of the play, almost entirely fictionalized, follows the ronin during the months leading up to the completion of their vendetta. Kampei is living in the countryside with his fiancee, Okaru, and her parents. Because of his previous dereliction of duty, the other ronin are uncertain that he is qualified to join in their vendetta. Nevertheless, they allow him to contribute money for a memorial tablet. In order to help their future son-in-law redeem himself, Okaru's parents sell her to a brothel without his knowledge in order to raise the necessary funds. In a complicated plot twist, Okaru's father, Yoichibei, is robbed and murdered on his way home. Kampei, out hunting in the rain, accidentally shoots the robber, mistaking him for a wild boar he had wounded earlier. While searching in the dark for his game, Kampei is stunned when he finds the body of a man instead. Nevertheless, he keeps a small purse of gold that he finds on the corpse. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Act VI At Yoichibei's house the next morning, the family anxiously awaits his return. The mistress of the brothel has arrived with the other half of the money to be paid to Okaru, and is surprised to find Yoichibei away. She insists that Okaru accompany her, but as they are leaving, Kampei arrives. The brothel mistress relates the whole story of the transaction, even describing the purse in which she gave Yoichibei half of the money. She then shows him a purse which she says is made of the same material. Kampei surreptitiously looks at the purse he removed from the corpse and, thinking that he has killed his fiancee's father, accedes to the brothel's mistress' demands. Two hunters arrive with Yoichibei's body, and Kampei commits seppuku. Before he dies, however, two ronin arrive and he relates the story of his shot in the dark. One of the ronin, impressed by his loyalty, allow him to join the conspiracy on his death bed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Act VII and VIII Yuranosuke makes various attempts to fool Moronao's spies, who are convinced that Enya's former retainers are bent on revenge. Act VIII is often enacted as a michiyuki (dance interlude) describing the bridal journey of Konami, Honzo's daughter, to the home of Rikiya, her betrothed. The action is mimed while singers describe the places and events of the journey. It is now autumn; eighteen months have passed since Enya's death. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Act IX The conflict between Honzo, who had restrained Enya when he attempted to kill Moronao, and Yuranosuke, who believes Honzo to be at least partially responsible for his master's death, is resolved. Though Honzo is accidentally stabbed in the course of events, they settle their differences and their children enjoy a few short hours of marital bliss before Rikiya joins his father in the attack on Moronao. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Act X The ronin, dressed as policemen, test the loyalty of the merchant Amakawaya Gihei, with whom the have contracted to provide the arms and armor for the conspirators. They attempt to intimidate him into revealing the contents of the large chests that he has been loading onto a ship. Gihei remains steadfast, and the ronin, pleased by his stalwart character, reveal themselves. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Act XI The last act is the famous "night attack" on Moronao's mansion. Aside from the early morning hour of the attack, the action is mostly fictionalized. The ronin assemble outside Moronao's mansion in two groups, wearing armor and distinctive black-and-white patterned coats for which they are famous. The pattern is an iconographical device representing the inevitable progression of night and day, symbolizing unfailing loyalty. Each ronin also wears a small wooden tag inscribed with one of the symbols of the Japanese syllabary as a means of identification. After a long series of fight scenes the ronin gain control of the compound, and begin a search for Moronao. He is eventually found cowering in a charcoal shed in his underwear, and as befitting a man of his character, he dies a coward's death. Bearing Moronao's severed head aloft in triumph, the loyal retainers set off in the dawn chill to lay this trophy on their master's grave Chushingura is seldom performed in its entirely. Portions of Act I and II, along with the whole eighth act, are often left out, or single acts are presented to showcase a particular kabuki actor.