onin a ee D Q it ¢ 5 x o = o a0 s £ By 47 IUtagawa Kuniyoshi’s 47 RoninCopyright © De Anima Books 2013 All Rights Reserved This edition is a compilation of Japanese woodblock prints of Utagawa Kuniyoshi, reproduced from the fol- lowing materials: * Seicha Gishi Den (Stories of the True Loyalty of the Faithful Samurai, 1847-48); * Chashin Gishi Komei Kurabe (Comparison of the High Renown of the Loyal Retainers and Faithful Samurai,1848); © Seicha Gishi $h6z6 (Portraits of the Faithful Samurai of True Loyalty, 1853); * Seicha Gishin Meimei Kagami (Mirror of the True Loy- alty of the Faithful Retainers, Individually, 1857). The official names and spelling of the involved char- acters have been kept in their historical version in order to avoid unnecessary inconsistencies. When appropriate, the names are also presented in Japanese.In Memoriam Kiyomi Hatai Kurahayashi 1942 - 2013During the Tokugawa era, the Shogun required his Daimyo (feudal lord) to visit him in Edo to take part in ceremonies and official events. In 1701 Lord Asano Naga- nori of Aké was ordered to participate in a ceremony that required frequent rehears- als and special protocol taught by Yoshinaka Kira, the shogun's chief chamberlain The chamberlain either insisted on bribes that were not forthcoming, or was un- happy with the small gifts presented to him, so he started to increasingly insult and humiliate the Daimyo. Unable to take the insults any longer, Lord Asano drew his sword and struck Kira, in an act of violence forbidden within palace grounds. Although the wound was not fatal, Lord Asano was arrested and forced to commit seppuku' (ritual sui- cide). His lands were confiscated and his retainers dispersed, becoming Ronin (leaderless Samurai). Oishi Kuranosuke Yoshio, Lord Asano's chief councilor, surrendered the castle and dismissed the household as ordered, but he secretly recruited a band of Samu- rai from Aké to avenge their master's honor. The Ronin patiently waited and planned the attack for more than a year, knowing that if their plan succeeded, they would face seppuku themselves. On a snowy night in December 1702, the band of forty-seven Ronin attacked Kira's castle and beheaded him. They took Kira's head back to Lord Asano's grave and awaited their arrest. In 1703 the shogun ordered all of the Ronin to commit seppuku, and they were buried in Sengakuji temple next to their master, whose death they had finally avenged. Some of the graves of the 47 RoninIn this temple there are the graves of forty-six Ronin sentenced to commit sep- puku and there are two more in memory of Terasaka Kichiemon Nobuyuki and Kayano Sanpé Tsuneyo. Terasaka escaped the fate of his companions, as he was in charge of going to Aké to report on the success of the vengeance. When he returned to Edo and surrendered to the authorities, the Shogun forgave him. Kayano strongly wished to participate in the revenge but he commited seppuku before the attack, due to strong opposition from his family. The adventure of the forty-seven Ronin immediately captured the imagination of the Japanese public, who revered the warriors as heroes expressing the utmost in loyalty, bravery, and sacrifice to the code of honor. Just weeks after the event, sto- ries and plays about the bravery and loyalty of the forty-seven Ronin were already being written. The most famous account was the Kanadehon Chashingura (R44F AS FLIED, originally written for the puppet theater in 1748 and later adapted for Kabuki 2. To satisfy the censors, the actual names and locations were changed. The setting moved from the 18th century to the 14th, Lord Asano became Lord En'ya Hangan, and Kira became Lord Moronao. Oishi Kuranosuke Yoshio, the leader of the plot, was called Oboshi Yuranosuke. Woodblock prints of the drama also became popular, depicting both individual characters and acts from the Kabuki play. The incredible popularity of the play and woodblock print images continued throughout the 19th century, and nowadays they are still a source of fascination for viewers. (1) The term hara-kiri (£4) J), although more common in the West than seppuku (88), in Japan is considered a vulgar and disrespectful description of an honorable act. (2) Kabuki (SRS) is a form of Japanese theater, known for the stylization of the drama and the elaborated make-up worn by its actors. The individual significance of each ideogram is singing (ka = 8), dance (bu = $8) and skill (ki = 4%), and so the word Kabuki is sometimes translated as “the art of singing and dancing"Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797 - 1861) One of the last recognized masters of Ukiyo-e, Kuniyoshi was born and raised in Edo (now Tokys) during the final phase of the Toku- gawa Shogunate. His father worked as a silk dyer, so Kuniyoshi was exposed to the arts since a young age. He apprenticed with the great wood- block print artist Toyokuni in his early teens, and as a young man developed his own bold and original style. While Kuniyoshi worked on a range of sub- jects from Bijinga (a generic term for portraying beautiful women through the woodcut) to land- scapes and actors prints, his favorite themes were those of warriors and legends. Se eee Kuniyoshi designed more than twenty trip- tychs (set of three paintings together in a triple frame or three paintings together forming an image) based on the tale of the forty-seven Ronin, and many series of the individual Ronin. By far his most famous series was the Seichu Gishi Den, started in August of 1847 and completed in Janu- ary of 1848. This series is an absolute masterwork and is considered the ultimate forty-seven Ronin series among collectors and scholars alike. Few printmakers ever were able to match Kuniyoshi's details, artistry, and his ability to cap- ture the passion and intensity of these warriors.rises Be Lf (Seicha Gishi Den) 1847 - 1848 / 50 printso Tanke it Ke Hew kB eee iH a & =f 2 Bee saee Beeat preter BL Bacto £ aputt. 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