Kataoka Gengoe Takafusa 片岡源五右衛高房 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図

Kataoka Gengoe Takafusa of the Gishi Shijushichi-zu series continues the systematic documentation of all forty-seven participants in the Ako vendetta. Kataoka's specific role in the raid and his subsequent behavior—unlike some of the forty-seven who dispersed, he remained at the scene and was among those who surrendered to shogunal authorities—may have given his portrait a distinct quality, the bearing of a man who had committed to seeing his act through to its social consequences.