In 1701, when lord Asano Naganori was ordered to commit seppuku after the Matsu no Roka incident at Edo Castle and the Ako domain was abolished, chief retainer Oishi Kuranosuke received oaths from retainers who wanted to make a last stand, yet rejected armed resistance and, on April 19, peacefully surrendered Ako Castle to shogunate officials while pursuing the restoration of the Asano house. This decision to open the castle without bloodshed marked the starting point of the path toward the following year's raid on the Kira mansion, the story later immortalized as Chushingura.