Dashun (Taishun)

The series title Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety refers to a work said to have been composed by the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368) Chinese scholar Guo Jujing. The subject of this print is a virtuous young man known as Dashun (or simply Shun), who never deviated from proper respect toward his family despite harsh treatment from his father, his cruel stepmother, and her jealous son. When scolded or beaten, he simply escaped outside, cultivating the family fields alone. Noting his filial devotion, creatures emerged from the nearby mountains to help: in spring, elephants came to plow the furrows, and in summer birds flocked to pull weeds. When the emperor heard this tale, he stepped in and guided the young man, until eventually Shun assumed the throne himself and became a virtuous ruler.
Wearing a Chinese costume with large floral roundels, Shun strikes the ground with a large mattock. Behind him two birds and a pair of kindly elephants help out with the fieldwork. The thatched roof above the field was embellished with brass filings that glitter when they catch the light. A cartouche running in a band across the bottom of the print identifies Okumura Masanobu as both artist and publisher.