Art Institute of Chicago

Act 5 (Godanme), from the series "Storehouse of Loyal Retainers (Chushingura)"

Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重

Date: c. 1834/39
Medium: Color woodblock print; oban
Culture: Japan
Department: Arts of Asia
Institution: Art Institute of Chicago

This is a fictional episode added to heighten the play’s suspense. During a heavy rainstorm in the mountains near Kyoto, an old peasant kneels and begs for mercy. On the right, Sadakuro, the son of Kudayu and a spy for Kira, is shown shabbily dressed in black, carrying a tattered umbrella. Sadakuro snatches the old man’s purse from the cord around his neck and kills him with the sword. The heavy rain in the image identifies the early date of the print, for printers failed to use the carved woodblocks that added rain to the image in later editions of the print.

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Object type: AAT300041273

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