"Act V of Chûshingura and others, from the series A Children's Handbook of String Pictures (Kyokumusubi osana tehon)"
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Museum of Fine Arts Boston
- Image courtesy of
- Museum of Fine Arts Boston
A sheet from the Kyokumusubi osana tehon series, which taught children how to form finger-string figures (ayatori-style loop constructions) while depicting scenes from famous kabuki plays and legends. This sheet illustrates Act V of Chûshingura, the vendetta drama centered on the forty-seven retainers of Asano Naganori. Act V is set at night on the Yamazaki highway and involves the retainer Hayano Kampei in a scene of darkness, mistaken identity, and moral anguish. Kyosai translates the dramatic situation into simplified figures whose outlines double as guides for the string-figure constructions. The dual function — instructional diagram and picture sheet — requires a clarity of outline that suits Kyosai's confident reductive draftsmanship. The series situates classic dramatic repertoire within the domain of children's play.
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
"Act V of Chûshingura and others, from the series A Children's Handbook of String Pictures (Kyokumusubi osana tehon)" was created by Kawanabe Kyosai (河鍋暁斎).
"Act V of Chûshingura and others, from the series A Children's Handbook of String Pictures (Kyokumusubi osana tehon)" depicts daily life.
