The Night Attack, Part 6: Offering Incense (Youchi roku, shoko ba), from the series "The Revenge of the Loyal Retainers (Chushingura)"
c. 1834/39
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
24.6 × 36.3 cm (9 11/16 × 14 5/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
33804
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Going beyond the play, Hiroshige closes his series by showing the ronins’ arrival at the Temple of Sengaku-ji, a temple that still stands today in the southern district of Tokyo. Here, the ronin are met by the abbot of the temple. After prayers, evidence of Kira’s death will be placed at Asano’s tomb. The forty-seven retainers will eventually be buried in a quadrangle adjacent to their master’s monument.
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...