Okaru and Kampei. Bannai try to arrest Kampei outside castle of Ye Do (Edo)

Katsukawa Shunsen, Japanese, about 1762 - 1830

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after 1806

Color woodblock print on paper

Set of 11

Overall: 9 3/8 × 13 1/16 in. (23.8 × 33.2 cm)

Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Claire E. and Dr. Frederick R. Mebel, Class of 1935

PR.975.21

Portfolio / Series Title

Number 4 from The Loyal League of Forty-seven Ronin (Uki-E Chushingura)

Geography

Place Made: Japan, East Asia, Asia

Period

19th century

Object Name

Print

Research Area

Print

Not on view

Label

Act 4: The Death of En'ya: Hara and Kuday, retainers of Lord En’ya, visit Lady Kaoyo to enquire about their lord’s health. An argument erupts when Kuday suggests that Hara should have bribed Moronao and saved their lord from humiliation. Kaoyo intervenes and explains the circumstances that led to En’ya’s confrontation with Moronao, then suggests that she is to blame for her husband’s fate. Her self-effacing manner typified the behavior expected of samurai women and endeared her to kabuki fans. Lord En’ya, seated alone in one of the back rooms of his residence, awaits news of the shogun’s verdict. Shunsen omits several key scenes from this act, knowing that fans of Ch shingura would be able to fill in the gaps. The conversation depicted in the foreground is interrupted by the arrival the shogun’s representatives and their announcement that En’ya must commit seppuku. On hearing this news, Rikiya, who is seated in the foreground next Konami, his betrothed, assists Lord En’ya in his preparations to die. Yuranosuke, the eventual leader of the 47 ronin, arrives and, in a brief conversation with En’ya before he commits suicide, pledges to avenge En’ya’s death.

From the 2019 exhibition Narratives in Japanese Woodblock Prints, guest curated by Allen Hockley, Associate Professor of Art History at Dartmouth

Course History

ARTH 62.3, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Winter 2019

ARTH 62.30/ASCL 62.12, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Spring 2022

Art History 62.30, Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages 62.12, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Spring 2023

Art History 62.30, Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages 62.12, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Summer 2023

Exhibition History

Narratives in Japanese Woodblock Prints, Class of 1967 Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 27-June 9, 2019.

Palmer Lounge Cases, Hopkins Center Art Galleries, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, October 1975.

Provenance

Dr. Frederick Ronald Mebel (1913-1998) and Claire E. Mebel (1916-1994); Rockville Center, New York; given to present collection, 1975.

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Subjects

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