Chushingura: A Work by Kunisada III

This print depicts a scene from the first act. It takes place in the Hachiman shrine in Kamakura, in Edo Bay. On the left are Hangan's wife, Kaoyo, wearing a beautiful kimono, and Wakasanosuke kneeling. Hangan also appears on the left, and Morono on the right.

This print depicts several scenes from the play's second act. In the foreground, the romance between Rikiya and Konami, daughter of Honzo (Wakasanosuke's main adviser) can be seen. On the right is Rikiya's mother, who disapproves of the marriage, looking over the scene as she hides behind a door. Wakasanosuke appears in the top left-hand corner, apparently furious at Morono's insults, and planning to kill him with the katana sword that he is brandishing in his hand.

This scene takes place outside Kamakura castle, next to the bridge over the moat, which leads to the castle's towers. Kanpei is in the foreground, protecting his wife, Okaru, from some menacing ruffians who have appeared from the left-hand corner of the painting, framed by a border of dog's teeth.

In this scene, Kaoyo stands next to some cherry blossoms with her friends, trying to distract herself, while her husband is in the background in another room, about to commit ritual suicide.

Here, Okaru's father is being robbed and stabbed as he returns home with the money the brothel has given him for his daughter. Kanpei, Okaru's husband, runs into the thief while he is hunting at night, and accidentally kills him. He takes the bag of money that he finds.

In this scene, Kanpei finds out that Okaru's father has been killed while returning with the money. He believes he has killed his father-in-law and decides to take his own life. This scene shows Okaru in the foreground, sitting on her kagu while she receives the news of her father's death. In the background, on the right-hand side, her husband Kanpei is depicted as he prepares to commit ritual suicide.

This scene takes place in the Ichiriki geisha house in Kyoto, where Morono's spy, Kudayu, has gone to keep an eye on Yuranosuke. Yuranosuke tries to trick him into believing that he has led a debaucherous life with women and forgotten all about revenge. On the right of the print, the artist depicts Morono hiding to show that he was still keeping watch, preoccupied with the idea of revenge. In the background are more of Morono's spies and informants.

This print depicts the work's eighth act, when Konami and her mother, Tonase, embark on the long nuptial journey to reunite her with her fiancé, Rikiya. Konami shows her mother a specific place that can be seen on the right, drawing the viewer's eye to the beautiful scenery that surrounds them, with a lake at their feet and sacred Mount Fuji in the background.

In this ukiyo-e, Kunisada III depicts several scenes from act nine. Firstly, we see Honzo's wife, Tomase, and their daughter, Konami, arriving at Yuranosuke's house in Yamashima (near Kyoto) in the middle of winter. Rikiya attacks Honzo with a lance. Before he dies, Honzo hands over the plans of Morono's house.

Scene set in Gihei and Sakai's house. Yuranosuke sends some ronin disguised as police officers to find out whether Gihei is capable of revealing, when threatened, that he had supplied the ronin with weapons and armor. Kunisada III shows the fake police officers hassling Gihei and attempting to make him confess, while being watched from behind a curtain.

This scene shows the attack on Morono's mansion, on a very snowy night. When the ronin catch Morono, they ask him to commit ritual suicide with the same dagger used by his master. Morono refuses and is decapitated. Kunisada depicts the moment in which the evil Morono, showing his cowardice, is unable to bring himself to commit suicide when he is shown a dagger inside a fan. In the background, the battle continues between the ronin and the guards from Morono's house.

This scene from the play's final act unfolds at daybreak. The ronin are heading for the Sengaku-ji temple, where Hangan, their master, is buried, to deliver the severed head of his enemy. Yuranosuke leads the way, followed by the other ronin, as they head for Sengaku-ji.