ronin, in Japanese history, masterless samurai. Ronin were retainers who were deprived of their place in the usual loyalty patterns of Japanese feudalism. The daimyo they had served might have died, been exiled, or become so poor that the samurai had to abandon his lord. Ronin became farmers, monks, soldiers of fortune, or even bandits. In demand in times of war, they were often a burden on society in times of peace. At their best, as in the story of the 47 Ronin depicted by Chikamatsu in his popular drama, they are a model of loyalty and self-sacrifice exemplifying bushido. In modern Japan, the term ronin is often given to high-school graduates who, having failed to pass college entrance exams, are preparing for another opportunity.

Forty-seven Ronin, Jap. Chushingura, group of Japanese samurai who avenged the disgrace and seppuku (suicide) of their master, Lord Asano, in 1703 by assassinating Lord Kira, the official responsible for his death. After a year of debate at all levels of society, the ronin (masterless samurai) committed seppuku as they had been ordered. They have since been regarded as great cultural heroes who embody the virtue of loyalty and are celebrated in traditional tales and a number of works of art. These include a popular 18th-century drama by Chikamatsu Monzaemon; 19th-century Japanese prints; films by Kinugasa Teinosuke (1932), Mizoguchi Kenji (1942), and Hiroshi Inagaki (1962); modern stage and television plays; and, in the West, a dramatic adaptation (The Faithful) by John Masefield.

Japanese masterless samurai. Because samurai received their livelihood from their lord in return for service, a masterless samurai was essentially a vagabond unless he could enter the service of another lord. Rōnin could be disruptive to society; at the beginning of the Tokugawa period (the early 17th century), rōnin led unsuccessful revolts against the shogunate. The most famous rōnin were the 47 whose actions were celebrated in the kabuki play Chūshingura. By avenging their lord's death in defiance of a shogunal order forbidding the vendetta, the 47 rōnin, who were subsequently forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide), came to be seen as embodiments of the ideals of bushidō, the warrior's code.

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