Ono Gunemon (大野群右衛門)
Gunemon ONO was the eldest legitimate son of Tomofusa ONO, a chief retainer of the Asano clan of Ako Domain. In Ako Domain, the Ono family was given 20 koku of rice in addition to Karoku (hereditary stipend) to the family although Gunemon was still heyazumi (an adult-age eldest son who has yet to come into his inheritance). Gunemon as well as his father was notorious for being unloyal to their lord.
After the change of rank of Ako Domain, Kurobe (Tomofusa) ONO became isolated and Gunemon, together with his father fled from Ako on May 19, 1701. It is said that they left Gunemon's young daughter. Gunemon was never to be heard of again from that time on. However, since Togai ITO said that Gunemon's father, Kurobe ONO lived near the Ninna-ji Temple in Kyoto, calling himself 'Seikan BAN' (伴閑精), Gunemon seemed to live around there.
In Kabuki 'Kanadehon Chushingura' (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers, a historical play dealing with the retainers of Ako Domain), Sadakuro ONO (斧) modeled after Gunemon ONO (大野) appears as a villain, who killed Okaru's father. In modern 'Chusingura' dramas, a new character, 'Sadakuro ONO (大野)' is created as the intermingling of Sadakuro and the family name of a historical figure, Gunemon ONO.
Since there are few documents on Gunemon, it can be said that he was in shade in the real Genroku Ako Incident. However, since he was described as a villain in 'Kanadehon Chushingura,' Sadakuro ONO often plays outstandingly as the second villain after Yoshinaka KIRA (sometimes even more wickedly than Yoshinaka KIRA).