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Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Dawn Moon and Tumbling Snow: Kobayashi Heihachirō (Seppu no gyōgetsu: Kobayashi Heihachirō), 1886

Description

Maker

Title

Dawn Moon and Tumbling Snow: Kobayashi Heihachirō (Seppu no gyōgetsu: Kobayashi Heihachirō)

Year

1886

Medium

Polychrome woodblock print

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Techniques

Supports

Dimensions

Plate: 33.2 x 22.7 cm (13 1/16 x 8 15/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Artist's seal | Go Kaisai

Place

Japan

Type

Credit

Gift of Isaac C. Bates

Object Number

97.017

About

In this scene from the play The Treasury of Loyal Retainers (Kanadehon Chūshingura), Yoshitoshi unexpectedly portrays a defender of the villain rather than one of the heroes celebrated in the title. Here the warrior Kobayashi Heihachirō—disguised in his nurse’s kimono—bravely defends his master, Moronao.

Artist's seal | Go Kaisai

Japan
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Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Heroes and Warriors

September 28, 2007 - January 13, 2008

On the night of January 30, 1703, a group of masterless samurai (known as the “Forty-Seven Rōnin”) attacked the mansion of Lord Kira of Kosuke, who had intrigued to force their master to commit suicide. Kobayashi Heihachirō, one of three samurai who defended the villainous Lord Kira to the death during the battle, is here disguised in his nurse’s kimono, which he borrowed when the night attack began.

This popular story, called the Treasury of Loyalty (Chūshingura), extols the virtues of the masterless samurai. Do you think that Yoshitoshi thinks of Kobayashi Heihachirō as a hero or villain?

Tradition and Innovation in Meiji-Period Prints

December 6, 2002 - March 2, 2003

Kobayashi Heihachirō is seen here bravely defending his master, Lord Kira, against an unseen assailant, one of the famed forty-seven loyal retainers who sought vengeance for the death of their master, Lord Asano. Their tale is recounted in the Chūsingura, The Treasury of Loyalty, and these heroes are known as the “forty-seven rōnin” (“masterless samurai”).

Bushido

November 1, 1985 - February 9, 1986

Related

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Iga no Tsubone: midnight moon, Mount Yoshino (Yoshinoyama yowa no tsuki Iga no Tsubone), 1886.1

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Moon at Seson Temple: Captain Yoshitaka (Shosho Yoshitaka Sesonji no tsuki), 1888

Keisai Eisen

Moon: The courtesan Egawa of the Marueiya (Tsuki: Egawa Marueiya nai), 1830's

More objects +

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Dawn Moon and Tumbling Snow: Kobayashi Heihachirō (Seppu no gyōgetsu: Kobayashi Heihachirō) with the accession number of 97.017. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.