The Fall of Ako Castle (赤穂城断絶, Akō-jō danzetsu) is a 1978 Japanese historical martial arts period film directed by Kinji Fukasaku.

[4][5] Lord Tsunayoshi of the Tokugawa shogunate strips 48 samurai of their assets, but they are afraid to resist and nevertheless attend a ceremony where he is presented with the Imperial Sword.

Oishi divorces his wife and sends her and their younger children to her father's home but keeps his eldest son and heir Chikara with him.

Lord Kira's attendant Kobayashi Heihachiro attempts to slay Oishi but kills a different man who happens to be sleeping in his room.

Kobayashi visits Hashimoto, who is unable to work due to his leg injury, forcing his wife into prostitution.

Nonetheless, never boring even in its most methodical passages, The Fall Of Ako Castle is a cracking samurai drama that’s also at times surprisingly moving.