Many of the rōnin wish to seek revenge against Kira for the dishonor of their Lord, but their leader, Ōishi Kuranosuke, convinces them to wait while he first petitions the Shogun to restore the Asano Clan.

There is sympathy for the rōnin for their faithfulness and sacrifice in such difficult circumstances and the forty-seven are granted the honorable death of committing seppuku despite their act of defiance.

Actors in the film include:[1] Uncredited During the war, Kenji Mizoguchi was forced to make artistic compromises, producing propaganda for the military government.

The government foisted the project on the director as a wartime morale booster, and as justification for the expansionist, nationalistic, and ultimately suicidal world war that Japan was embroiled in during the middle of the 20th century.

[4] The film is prefaced by the words: Defend the Homes of Those Who Fight for a Greater Asia (護れ興亞の兵の家) Part One was a commercial failure at a cost of ¥530,000,[5] having been released in Japan one week before the attack on Pearl Harbor.