Item from the Mokuhankan Flea Market

Night Raid on the Mansion

Size: 24.5cm by 37.0cm (9.65 in by 14.57 in) | Enlargement | Shipping Code: [L] ?

Designer: Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Era: Post-war | Currency: $ / £ / €

Price: ¥ 10,000$ 74.00£ 54.75€ 62.75 [Item has been sold]

Description: The theme of this print is 'Genroku Ako Incident,' which occurred in December 1702. In this dramatic event, 47 ronin (masterless samurai) from Ako Domain attacked the mansion of Kira Kozuke-no-suke, seeking revenge for their lord, Asano Takumi-no-kami.

Kuniyoshi (1798~1861) created the scene that looks very un-Japanese in style and scene; the houses and walls are not Japanese, and are quite different from most ukiyo-e prints in its use of shadows and the application of perspective.

Modern research has uncovered a precursor, a copperplate engraving by Jan Nihoff, published in the Netherlands in 1682, more than a century before Kuniyoshi's birth.

In the foreground on the left, a man is feeding food to dogs to keep them from barking. The humorous thing is the shape of Mt. Fuji, seen far away, which appears as a triangular pyramid. In the Dutch original design, this is the triangular peak of a building.

This version's publisher and other details are unknown, but it is likely a reproduction in the post-war period.

There are slight creases on this print. Also, the upper corners on the back are backed.

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