Maps of Movies

47 Ronin (2013)

Where 47 Ronin says it takes place, and where it was really shot.

A fantasy Japan built mostly on sets: the story names Wakkanai and Dejima, but the cameras were in Budapest and a London-area studio.

Scenes and places

The woods where Kai is found

A mixed-heritage boy is found alone in the woods and taken in by a lord. He grows up an outcast in a house of samurai who look down on him.

Set in Woods near Wakkanai, Hokkaido — Where the English-Japanese boy Kai is found as a child.

The northernmost city in Japan, on Hokkaido. The film only names the town; the setting is a fantasy Japan.

Akō: the hunt, the Shōgun and the duel

Kai saves his lord from a monster, then spots a witch in the Shōgun's party that nobody believes him about. When Asano's champion is struck down before the duel, Kai puts on armor and steps in.

Set in Akō Domain — Lord Asano's domain, where the hunt, the Shōgun's visit and the duel take place.

The coordinates are the real Akō Castle site. The film's Akō is an invented fantasy domain, so the point is a reference only.

The fighting pits of Dejima

Nearly a year on, Oishi frees himself of his watchers and gathers his scattered men. Their first move is to pull Kai out of the pits where he has been sold to fight.

Set in Dejima, the Dutch colony — The Dutch colony where Kai is held and made to fight.

A small artificial island in Nagasaki that once housed the Dutch trading post. The film's pits are a set-piece, not a documented location.

The Tengu Forest and temple

Kai takes the rōnin back to the place he fled. Oishi is warned not to draw his sword inside the temple and has to hold to it while he faces a vision of his men.

Set in Tengu Forest and Tengu temple — A fantasy forest where Kai once trained, and the temple that holds the special blades.

An invented place of the film's fantasy world, with no real-world location.

The road to the shrine

The rōnin try to strike Kira on the way to a shrine. The procession turns out to be a trap and the plan breaks down.

Set in The road to the shrine Kira visits — The route of Kira's pilgrimage, where the rōnin plan an ambush.

A fictional stretch of road in the film's world; no real-world location is named.

Kira's castle

The surviving rōnin split in two. Half come in as wedding performers and half climb the walls, with Kai and Mika at the heart of it.

Set in Kira's castle — The stronghold where the rōnin finally attempt their attack.

An invented castle of the film's world; no real-world location is named.

Filmed at Budapest, Hungary — Production only, not tied to a scene

Filmed at Shepperton Studios, England — Production only, not tied to a scene

Filmed at London, England — Production only, not tied to a scene

Characters

• Kai — A teenage English-Japanese outcast taken in by Lord Asano, scorned by the samurai of Akō.
• Oishi — Lord Asano's principal counselor, who later leads the scattered rōnin.
• Mika — Lord Asano's daughter, who falls in love with Kai.

Questions answered on the map

• Where was this fantasy Japan really filmed?