Artwork Page for Chushingura: Act X of The Storehouse of Loyalty

Details / Information for Chushingura: Act X of The Storehouse of Loyalty

Chushingura: Act X of The Storehouse of Loyalty

late 1790s

Kitagawa Utamaro 喜多川 歌麿

(Japanese, c. 1754–1806)
Culture
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Medium
color woodblock print
Measurements
Sheet: 36.6 x 26.1 cm (14 7/16 x 10 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift from J. H. Wade 1921.358
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Stage version: The hero Gohei bravely plants himself on a chest of armor and weapons to prevent government officials from discovering them before they are smuggled out of the house. He holds off the officials by claiming that the chest contains personal belongings of the lady of the house. Exposing these items would bring her humiliation and dishonor. See Chushingura: Perspective Picture for the "Treasure House of Loyalty" (CMA 1985.338.10). Parody print: Utamaro converted this moment of lofty bravery into one of humor. A drunkard guards a cask of sake to prevent the maid from opening it.
A vertically oriented color woodblock print in muted reds, browns, and greens depicts a pale-skinned man with an open mouth sitting on a woven barrel. At left, a woman in a brown kimono rests her chin on her hand. At right, a man in a red robe looks on. In the foreground, two figures in red kneel near ceramic jars. An inset box at top left shows figures struggling on a platform amid Japanese text.

Chushingura: Act X of The Storehouse of Loyalty

late 1790s

Kitagawa Utamaro

(Japanese, c. 1754–1806)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

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