The Night Attack, Part 2: Breaking In (Youchi ni, rannyu), from the series "The Revenge of the Loyal Retainers (Chushingura)"
c. 1834/39
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
24.8 × 37.3 cm (9 3/4 × 14 11/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
33788
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Here, the ronin break into Kira’s mansion using bamboo poles to pry open the framework around closed shutters. Each ronin wears a black tunic with a white, dog’s tooth border closely resembling the ronin dress in Masayoshi’s final act, also shown nearby. This dress (or uniform) became the standard in almost all of the later ukiyo-e depictions of ronin in a Chûshingura story.
About the Artist
Utagawa Hiroshige · 1826–1869
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858), born Andō Tokutarō, was the last great master of Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock printmaking and one of the most influential landscape artists in history. Born in Edo (modern Tokyo) into a low-ranking samurai family serving as fire wardens, Hiroshige transformed landscape printmaking into a poetic meditation on nature, weather, and everyday life. His revolutionary approac...