Description
During the legendary assault of the 47 ronin (四十七士) on the residence of Kira Yoshinaka (吉良義央), the samurai Munenori (宗則), stage name of the historical character Yokokawa Kanpei Munetoshi (横川勘平宗利), stops the blade of a katana with the chain of his kusarigama (鎖鎌): a weapon indeed unusual in the hands of a samurai, since it was mostly used by those who were not allowed to carry a sword.
The precious woodblock print, made in 1864 by the artist Utagawa Kunisada (歌川国貞), is taken from the series “Stories of the True Loyalty of the Faithful Samurai” (誠忠義士伝之内) and is titled “The Syllable Mi: Actor Ichimura Kakitsu IV as Yokokawa Kanpei Munenori” (み 横川勘平宗則 [四代目]市村家橘).
The work, printed by the publisher Oyama Toyojiro (大山豊次郎) and by the engraver Katada Chojiro (片田長治郞), despite the right aging of the paper, some signs of rippling and small restorations, is in fair general conditions.
