
c. 1834/39
Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重 Japanese, 1797-1858
Japan
Here, the ronin break into Kira’s mansion using bamboo poles to pry open the framework around closed shutters. Each ronin wears a black tunic with a white, dog’s tooth border closely resembling the ronin dress in Masayoshi’s final act, also shown nearby. This dress (or uniform) became the standard in almost all of the later ukiyo-e depictions of ronin in a Chûshingura story.
Color woodblock print; oban