Act 2 (Nidanme), from the series "The Revenge of the Loyal Retainers (Chushingura)"
c. 1834/39
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
24.5 × 37 cm (9 5/8 × 14 9/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
33753
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
As in the Shunsho version of this scene, the young lovers Konami and Rikiya stand in silence. In the background, Konami’s father descends the staircase into a garden. On the right, her mother enters to receive Rikiya’s message that Lords Asano and Wakasa must appear the next day at the shogun’s court. Wakasa stands on an engawa in the background. Here and in other prints in this series, Hiroshige suggests only a small part of the play’s complex events. The tale was so well known in Hiroshige’s g...
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...