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Scene from the series: Story of Loyal, Prominent, and Faithful Samurai, act 4 (Ch?y? gishi roku...
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Scene from the series: Story of Loyal, Prominent, and Faithful Samurai, act 4 (Ch?y? gishi roku dai yon)
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Description
Rating
Title
Scene
from the
series
:
Story
of
Loyal
,
Prominent
, and
Faithful
Samurai
,
act
4
(Ch?y
?
gishi
roku
dai
yon)
Description
Woodblock
print
;
ink
and
colors
on
paper
.
Signed
:
Ichisai
Toyokuni
Hitsu
.
Two
round
censor
seals
at the
top
of the
picture
used
between18471848
.
Right
:
Yoshimura
Gentaro
;
left
:
Muramatsu
Yoshimura
. This
print
is
nice
because
its
border
has not been
trimmed
and the
round
censor
seals
are
still
intact
above
the
top
margin
of the
picture
. The
series
portrays
the
most
famous
vendetta
of
samurai
retainers
in the
Edo
period
, the
Chushingura
, or the
tale
of the
47
masterless
samurai
(ronin)
. On the
snowy
night
of
January
30
,
1703
, in an
incident
known
as the
Ako
vendetta
,
forty-six
samurai
who
had
sworn
an
oath
to
revenge
their
master's
needless
death
burst
into the
mansion
of the
man
responsible
for the
death
of their
former
master
,
Asano
Naganori
, the
lord
of
Ako
. They were
led
by
Oishi
Kuranosuke
,
Asano's
chief
advisor
. Their
intended
victim
,
Kira
Yoshinaka
, was a
powerful
noble
and an
important
retainer
of the
imperial
household
.
After
refusing
the
opportunity
to
die
by his
own
hand
,
Kira
was
killed
with the
same
dagger
Asano
had
used
to
commit
seppuku
, and then
beheaded
. At
dawn
on the
following
morning
the
samurai
surrendered
themselves
to the
priests
of a
Buddhist
temple
to
await
their
punishment
. The
vendetta
served
as the
basis
for what
is
without
doubt
the
most
famous
and
popular
work
of the
Japanese
Kabuki
theater
,
Kanadehon
Chushingura
(The
Treasury
of
Loyal
Retainers
: A
Model
for
Emulation)
.
During
the
Tokugawa
era
(1600-1868)
there was a
ban
on the
depiction
in
art
or the
dramatization
on
stage
of
current
historical
events
using
the
actual
names
of the
nobility
involved
.
Therefore
, the
theatrical
version
of the
Ako
vendetta
was
set
in the
days
of the
fourteenth-century
shogun
Takauiji
;
Asano
,
Kira
, and
Oishi
became
Enya
,
Moronao
, and
Oboshi
, and the
setting
of the
play
was
changed
from
Edo
to
Kamakura
.
Act
IV
,
depicted
here,
consists
entirely
of
Enya's
seppuku
, the
punishment
ordered
by the
shogun
for his
attempt
on
Moronao's
life
. This
scene
,
filled
with
quiet
,
yet
terrible
,
passion
,
is
one
of the
classical
moments
of
kabuki
theater
. As the
preparations
for his
suppuku
are
completed
,
Enya
swears
to "
return
to
life
again
and
again
until
my
vengeance
is
accomplished.
" From an
adjoining
room
Enya's
retainers
beg
through
the
closed
door
to be
allowed
one
last
look
at their
master
. In
silence
Enya
,
dressed
in
white
, the
traditional
color
of
death
,
waits
for
Yuranosuke
while
he
continues
his
preparations
. A
thick
,
white
tatami
mat
is
laid
with
branches
of
ceremonial
herbs
in
each
corner
.
Enya
slides
his
outer-garment
off
on his
shoulders
and
tucks
the
long
ends
firmly
under
his
knees
so
that the
tension
of the
fabric
will
cause
him to
fall
face
down
. At a
silent
signal
Rikiya
enters
bringing
a
short
sword
on a
wooden
stand
.
Finally
, there
is
nothing
else
left
to
do
;
Enya
gathers
his
composure
, and in a
swift
motion
takes
up
the
sword
and
drives
it
into his
stomach
.
Just
then
Yuranosuke
enters
and
speaks
in
calm
,
almost
fatherly
tones
,
bidding
Enya
to
die
bravely
.
Gazing
steadily
into his
chamberlain's
face
,
Enya
tells
Yuranosuke
that he
must
avenge
his
death
using
this
very
same
sword
, and with a
last
effort
completes
the
act
of
ritual
suicide
.
Country
Japan
Historical Period
Japan - Edo-Tokugawa 1615 - 1868
Date of Content
1847
Artist/Creator
Utagawa
Kunisada
(1786-1864)
IDEAS Topic
Arts
Arts-Prints
Arts-Theater
Language
Japanese
Work of Art, Present Location
Ross
Art
Museum
Type
still
image
Format
image/jpg
Extent
2934
w
x
1920
h
,
180
ppi
Date Photographed/Recorded
5/28/2007
Permissions
Materials
may
be
used
for
educational
,
non-commercial
purposes
only
.
Acknowledgement
to be
given
to the
ASIANetwork-Luce
Asian
Art
in the
Undergraduate
Curriculum
Project
and to the
college
from
whose
collection
the
work
comes
. The
individual
college
retains
copyright
to the
work
.
IDEAS Collection
ASIANetwork-Luce
Asian
Art
in the
Undergraduate
Curriculum
Project
Institution Name
Ohio
Wesleyan
University
IDEAS Identifier
soclaa000662
Collection Editor
Kucera
,
Karil
Notes
(above
commentary
based
on an
essay
originally
published
as a
gallery
guide
for an
exhibition
at the
Spencer
Museum
of
Art
,
University
of
Kansas
,
August
3
-
September
24
,
1986.
It
was
written
by
Alan
Atkinson
who
was then
intern
in the
department
of
prints
and
drawings).
References
: for
information
on this
series
,
see
http://www.kunisada.de/Kunisada-Chushingura/series148/series148.htm
AND On the
historical
event
,
see
:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forty-seven_Ronin
http://www.spencerart.ku.edu/chushin/chushtxt.htm
Image preparator
Amy
Sonnichsen
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