 As a result, plays were designed to use historical or literary references as metaphors for current events.The famous play "Kanadehon Chūshingura", also known as the tale of the Forty-seven rōnin, is a fine example of this.Though the actual forty-seven rōnin and the events surrounding their attempts at revenge for their lord took place in the early 18th century, only a few decades before the play debuted, it was depicted onstage as taking place in the 14th century, and the names of all the principal figures involved were changed.