Chushingura

This print takes its subject from Chushingura, the celebrated narrative of the forty-seven ronin who avenged their lord Asano Naganori in 1703. The tale has been among the most depicted in Japanese woodblock printing since the Edo period, appearing in actor prints, illustrated books, and narrative series. Varaillon's treatment in mokuhanga incorporates embossing and burnishing — techniques that add sculptural relief to carved forms and produce areas of burnished lustre on the printed surface. The embossing likely articulates armor, textile patterns, or figural outlines, giving tactile dimension to the warrior imagery. Printed by hand with a baren, the water-based inks achieve the characteristic soft gradations of the mokuhanga tradition. The combination of a canonical Japanese subject with these refined finishing techniques places the work squarely within Varaillon's project of engaging mokuhanga as a living craft practice rather than historical reproduction.