From the 47 Ronin

One print in Kyosai's series on the forty-seven ronin, this work depicts a scene from the Genroku vendetta of 1703, in which the retainers of Asano Naganori stormed the Edo mansion of Kira Yoshinaka. Kyosai approached the Chushingura subject not as a straightforward celebration of loyalty but with the sharp characterological observation that marks his best figural work. The composition likely features one or more retainers in full night-raid dress — dark haori, white headbands, weapons drawn — rendered in Kyosai's characteristically fluid, pressure-sensitive line. Color registration across the woodblocks conveys the atmospheric darkness of the assault, with restrained use of blue-black and iron-gray tones punctuated by flashes of lacquered armor. The print reflects both the popular Edo fascination with the Chushingura story and Kyosai's ability to invest well-worn subject matter with fresh visual authority.