Gishin Kainan was written by Matsumura Kyazan（松村九山），a Confucian scholar and doctor from Ono han（大野藩）in Echizen（越前）province． Gishin（義臣10yal retainer） refers to the fortyseven（or six）γδ痂of Akδ， a castle town in Harima province， and kainαn （解難）to Dazai Shundai’s（太宰春台）treatise on theγδπ勿， in which he rehabilitated their name． Matsumura criticized Dazai’s treatise，幽σS勧露γo肋s雇～oπ（赤穂四十六士論 Treatise on the Forty－Seven〔or six〕R6nin of Ak6），focusing on the folIowing points． 1） The usage of the terms raihei（来聰imperial envoy）and Yamashiro Tenn6（山 城天皇Emperor Yamashiro）； 2） The reasons for and interpretation of the vendetta； 3） The lengthy delay before Oishi Yoshio（大石良雄）and the other forty・sixγδη勿 carried out their raid， in 1702，0n Kira Yoshinaka’s吉良義央residence； 4） The question of whether theγ伽勿held a grudge against the s妨g〃πor Kira， who was master of ceremonies III the s勿g襯’s palace． The meaning of loyalty is also considered here with respect to the views of Dazai， Matsumura， and Goi RanshU（五井蘭洲），which are comparatively discussed；and 5）The ethicality of the forty・six in waiting for the bαkufu’s（幕府）sentence instead of taking the initiate to commit suicide． Matsumura’s criticisms show him to be nearly identical in position to Goi RanshU， a writer opposed to Dazai． Although Matsumura could sympathize with theγδη勿， he upheld the absoluteness of the shogun’s authority and thus opined that their behavior was contrary to the laws of the shogunate， However， Matsumura admired Oishi and his band for their bravery and Ioyalty in pursuing the will of their deceased rnaster． He also praised their prudehce in remaining within Iegal bounds and condoned their reasons for enacting their long－cherished ambition． His ideas contrasted sharply with Dazai’s opinion that not only did Oishi not fully comprehend the meaning of loyalty， but he also transgressed the samural code
