Mirror of the True Loyalty of the Faithful Retainers, Individually (Part I)

(Seichû gishin meimei kagami)

Publisher: Ise-ya Isaburô

1857

In 1702, Lord Asano of Akô was provoked by Kira Kozukenosuke Yoshinaka into drawing his sword in the shogun’s palace, for which he was forced to take his own life, and his estate was confiscated. Forty-seven of Lord Asano’s retainers, who were now rônin (samurai without masters), planned and carried out a successful attack on Kira’s palace. Kira’s head was cut off with the same dagger Lord Asano used to commit seppuku. (The term ‘hara-kiri’, although more common in English than ‘seppuku’, is considered in Japan to be a vulgar and disrespectful description of an honorable act.). The 46 surviving rônin were forced to take their own lives. These events were made into the play, ‘Kanadehon Chûshingura’. This series of prints portrays the rônin. Many of the prints contain syllables in hiragana script within diamonds. These syllables may be assigned numbers corresponding to their positions in an alphabet-like order. The iroha order was the alphabet-like sequence most commonly used in Kuniyoshi’s time. The prints in this series are each about 14 by 10 inches (36 by 25 centimeters), a size known as ôban.

	Scene: Ôboshi Yuranosuke Yoshio beating a drum in the snow by a body of water Hiragana: ぃ(i) No. 1 Robinson: S90.1
	Scene: Ôboshi Rikiya Yoshikane with a mallet attacking a foe hiding under a koto (stringed musical instrument) Hiragana: ろ (ro) No. 2 Robinson: S90.2
	Scene: Yatô Yomoshichi Norikane delivering a sword stroke to the head of a foe Hiragana: み (mi) No. 41 Robinson: S90.3
	Scene: Fuwa Katsuyemon Masatane in ordinary clothes chastising two palanquin (kago) bearers Hiragana: る(ru) No. 11 Robinson: S90.4
	Scene: Shikamatsu Hanroku Yukishige tasting fruit respectfully offered Hiragana: せ (se) No. 46 Robinson: S90.5
	Scene: Yoshida Kawayemon Kanesada running along the water’s edge in a fur helmet and carrying a spear Hiragana: none Robinson: S90.6
	Scene: Sakagaki Genzô Masakata holding his spear and taking a drink in Moronao’s mansion Hiragana: ゐ (wi or i) No. 25 Robinson: S90.7
	Scene: Yodogawa Kanpei Munenori running past a stone lantern in pursuit of a fleeing foe Hiragana: な (na) No. 21 Robinson: S90.8
	Scene: Onodera Jûnai Hidekazu tying his girdle in the snow with his sword and armor on the ground behind him Hiragana: と (to) No. 7 Robinson: S90.9
	Scene: Isoai Juroyemon Masahisa and a foe chasing each other around a large standing screen Hiragana: none Robinson: S90.10
	Scene: Okano Kinyemon Kanehide wringing out his cloths in the snow while holding his sword between his teeth Hiragana: れ (re) No. 42 Robinson: S90.11
	Scene: Senzaki Yagorô Noriyasu using his sword to fend off a bundle of wood that had been thrown at him with a wounded foe behind him Hiragana: き (ki) No. 38 Robinson: S90.12
	Scene: Yazama Jûjirô Moto-oki fighting with crossed swords by a sand pit with an overturned brazier Hiragana: none Robinson: S90.13 (listed as not seen)
	Scene: Ôtaka Dengo Tadao striking the gate of Moronao’s mansion with a huge mallet Hiragana: か (ka) No. 14 Robinson: S90.14
	Scene: Kataoka Dengoemon Takafusa on top of a foe whom he is about to tie-up Hiragana: ほ (ho) No. 5 Robinson: S90.15 (listed as not seen)
	Scene: Nakamura Kansuke Maratoki cutting the strings of several bows with his sword Hiragana: ぁ (a) No. 36 Robinson: S90.16
	Scene: Toshima Yasôyemon Tsuneki, having tie two ruffians to a tree, holds a third on the ground Hiragana: く (ku) No. 28 Robinson: S90.17
	Scene: Teraoka Heiemon Nobuyuki carrying two buckets of water through the snow Hiragana: す (su) No. 47 Robinson: S90.18
	Scene: Uramatsu Handayû Takanao testing a sword blade without its handle on a doorpost Hiragana: め (me) No. 40 Robinson: S90.19
	This is an alternate state of the above print. In addition to slightly different colors, the hiragana within a diamond is missing from the left lower corner.
	Scene: Tokuda Tadayemon Yukitaka opening a sliding door to disclose two of Moronao’s terrified retainers Hiragana: none Robinson: S90.20
	Scene: Horibe Yahei Kanamaru beheading a foe with the severed head flying through the air Hiragana: ち (chi) No. 8 Robinson: S90.21
	Scene: Kimura Okuyemon Sadayuki using his sword to fend of a thrown spear and various other objects Hiragana: を (wo) No. 12 Robinson: S90.22
	Scene: Kazuta Shinyemon Taketaka using a dipper to poor water on a bed of hot ashes Hiragana: Robinson: S90.23
	Scene: Takebayashi Sadashichi Takashige making a sword stroke that disarmed a foe whose right leg is all that is shown Hiragana: Robinson: S90.24
	Scene: Karahashi Zensuke Takeyuki drinking sake from a tub Hiragana: Robinson: S90.25

‘Robinson’ refers to listing in Kuniyoshi: The Warrior-Prints by Basil William Robinson (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1982) and its unpublished supplement.

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