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20-424: Perhaps the most famous Master of Ceremonies in history was Kira Yoshinaka aka Kira Kōzuke-no-suke ( 吉良上野介 ) , the real-life model of the villain avenged in the tale of the forty-seven rōnin of Akō . The office of kōke is typically translated "Master of Ceremonies" or "Master of Court Ceremony". The men who kōke position performed such roles as that of the courier carrying the shōgun ' s messages to

40-494: A much wider range of international relations. The rules of protocol to create space where meetings can take place. As paradoxical as it may sound, the framework of protocol actually does not limit space, it creates it. By ensuring a smooth organisation, participants in an event and especially those acting as host, can focus on the content of the event without having to worry about the unexpected. The other side of protocol: its symbolic value. The events and rituals, for example, of

60-494: A treaty. A protocol is a rule which describes how an activity should be performed, especially in the field of diplomacy. In diplomatic services and governmental fields of endeavor protocols are often unwritten guidelines. Protocols specify the proper and generally accepted behavior in matters of state and diplomacy , such as showing appropriate respect to a head of state, ranking diplomats in chronological order of their accreditation at court, and so on. One definition is: Protocol

80-536: Is commonly described as a set of international courtesy rules. These well-established and time-honored rules have made it easier for nations and people to live and work together. Part of protocol has always been the acknowledgment of the hierarchical standing of all present. Protocol rules are based on the principles of civility.—Dr. P.M. Forni on behalf of the International Association of Protocol Consultants and Officers. There are two meanings of

100-573: Is derived, via French and Medieval Latin , from the Greek word πρωτόκολλον protokollon "first glued sheet of or onto a papyrus-roll". This comes from the act of gluing a sheet of paper to the front of a document to preserve it when it was sealed, which imparted additional authenticity to it. In the beginning, the term protocol related to the various forms of interaction observed in official correspondence between states, which were often elaborate in nature. In course of time, however, it has come to cover

120-462: The Chuushingura play is being performed, and employs him to look for a treasure. Eventually, it turns out the treasure is Kira's false teeth, which he needed to cross over into the next world. Protocol (diplomacy) In international politics , protocol is the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state . It may also refer to an international agreement that supplements or amends

140-690: The Imperial court in Kyoto , or one of a reception committee for hosting the Imperial Envoys at Edo . They also represented the shogun in certain functions held at Nikkō and other shrines or temples, and regulated courtly ceremonies and rites observed in the Edo Castle . The office was instituted in 1608, when the Tokugawa shogunate selected certain ancient great dispossessed families to fill

160-480: The omote-kōke who has not been appointed were not given any courtly ranks, the appointed oku-kōke was promoted Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade ( 従五位下 , jugoi no ge ) or higher, which was necessitated in order to grant them privileges to attend the Emperor's Court. Kira Yoshinaka Kira Yoshinaka ( 吉良 義央 ) (October 5, 1641 – January 30, 1703) was a kōke (master of ceremonies). His court title

180-559: The 278-volume essay Kasshi Yawa (甲子夜話), and later happened to become the great-grandfather of the Emperor Meiji . The story of Kira assassination was firstly written as Kanadehon Chūshingura (仮名手本忠臣蔵) in 1703, and it has been told in kabuki , bunraku , Rōkyoku , Kōdan or Rakugo . In 1927, Jirō Osaragi serialized the story in the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun under the title of Ako Roshii (赤穂浪士) and

200-737: The brother of Asano Naganori was re–established, received a revenue of 5,000 koku and the rank of hatamoto . Matsura Shigenobu , the Hirado Domain Daimyo who was the first Japanese trader with Dutchmen , namely Jacob Quaeckernaeck , and invited the Dutch East India Company and the East India Company to his domain, later met Kira through a military writer and philosopher Yamaga Sokō to learn Kira family's confidential textbooks Kira Kaichūshō (吉良懐中抄). Shigenobu's descendant Matsura Seizan wrote

220-621: The connection between the Kira and the Uesugi. As a kōke , Kira oversaw matters of protocol . In 1701, he was assigned the task of tutoring Asano Naganori in matters of protocol in preparation for an upcoming visit by representatives of the Emperor . According to the stories, Kira was corrupt and demanded bribes for the tutoring, which Asano refused to pay. Kira then began to publicly insult Asano, calling him an ignorant and unmannered rural boor. On

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240-633: The day when the envoys were scheduled to meet the shōgun at Edo Castle , Asano drew his wakizashi and attempted to kill Kira in retaliation for the insults. For this, Asano was sentenced to commit seppuku , his house abolished, and his retainers branded rōnin , while Kira went unpunished. On the night of January 30, 1703 (14th day, 12th month, year Genroku -15, according to the Japanese calendar ), Asano's retainers broke into Kira's mansion, after almost two years of careful and secret planning, and killed him in revenge. They then surrendered themselves to

260-929: The hereditary office. Most of these families claimed descent from shugo (governors) of the Kamakura period to Sengoku period , among them the Takeda , the Imagawa , the Kyōgoku , the Rokkaku , the Ōtomo , the Toki , the Isshiki and the Hatakeyama (a full list is given below). Some families were less prestigious, like the Yokose, the Yura, the Ōsawa, and the Kira. By the end of

280-570: The novel was made into a movie by Nikkatsu in 1929. The movie was remade at least 3 times in 1933, 1956, and 1961, respectively. The story has also been told in other stage plays, novels, television shows and other media as Chūshingura (忠臣蔵) until the 21st century. The ghost of Kira appears in Episode 113 of the TV animation series Lupin III Part 2 . He meets Lupin in the lobby of a theater where

300-452: The ordinary hatamoto whose duties were military, the kōke had certain privileged missions. Note that kōke is still treated as part of the hatamoto in some sources. Below the kōke , about 10 families bore the title of omote-kōke ( 表高家 ) . Actually, those who were already serving office were called oku-kōke ( 奥高家 ) as opposed to the omote-kōke who were either unappointed or on standby (including minors still not old enough). Although

320-410: The shogunate authorities and were ordered to commit seppuku for the murder . The Tokugawa shogunate condemned the grandson of Yoshinaka to death for being incapable of protecting his family like a samurai ; the Kira were also dispossessed and lost the rank of koke . After the death of Uesugi Tsunakatsu, the revenues of the Uesugi were reduced from 300,000 koku to 150,000 koku. On the other hand,

340-457: The shogunate in the mid-19th century, the occupancy of the office numbered 26. Some families had several branches among the kōke, like the Takeda who had two lateral branches with that title. The kōke families had land income assessed at less than ten thousand koku which ranked them below a daimyō lord, but were higher ranked than the run-of-the-mill hatamoto (Tokugawa bannermen). Unlike

360-452: The word "protocol" in the context of international relations. In the legal sense, it is defined as an international agreement that supplements or amends a treaty. In the diplomatic sense, the term refers to the set of rules, procedures, conventions and ceremonies that relate to relations between states. In general, protocol represents the recognized and generally accepted system of international courtesy (comitas gentium). The term protocol

380-465: Was Kōzuke no suke (上野介) . He is famous as the adversary of Asano Naganori in the events of the Forty-seven rōnin . Although his name (義央) has been long pronounced as "Yoshinaka" especially in dramas and novels, Ekisui Rembeiroku ( 易水連袂録 ) , written by an anonymous contemporary in 1703, recorded that his name was "Yoshihisa." Born in 1641, he was the eldest son of Kira Yoshifuyu. His mother

400-577: Was a member of the high-ranking Sakai clan . On the death of his father in 1668, Yoshinaka became the 17th head of the household, inheriting lands evaluated at 4200 koku . His wife was from the Uesugi clan , and his eldest son was adopted by Uesugi Tsunakatsu , the head of the Dewa Yonezawa han , taking the name Tsunanori. Yoshinaka named his second son as his heir, but when that heir died, Yoshinaka adopted Tsunanori's second son, strengthening

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