Onoe Baikō - 47 Rōnin - ιαπωνική ξυλογραφία - Ukiyo-e - Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) - Ιαπωνία - Τέλη της περιόδου Edo

Artist: Utagawa Kunisada / Toyokuni III (歌川国貞 / 三代豊国, 1786–1865)
Titel: Hayami Tōzaemon Mitsutaka (早水藤左衛門満尭; on this sheet 速見藤左衛門満堯), Actor: Onoe Baikō
Series: Seichū Gishi Den (誠忠義士傳) — Stories of the Faithful Samurai (the Forty-Seven Rōnin)

Technique: Woodblock print (ukiyo-e), colour (nishiki-e)
Date: Japan, 1864 (Genji 1, late Edo period)
Publisher: Daikokuya Kinzaburō (to confirm against the seal — see notes)
Format: Ōban tate-e, approx. 36 × 24.5cm
Signature: nanajūkyū-sai Toyokuni hitsu (七十九歳豊国筆) — "from the brush of Toyokuni, aged 79," with toshidama seal; a block-carver seal is also present

1. Impression & Colors:

A strong, saturated impression against the deep slate-indigo night ground that runs through the finest sheets of this series. Rather than the contained bust portrait used for most of the set, here Kunisada gives a vigorous half-length figure thrown into a fighting mie: the retainer's face is turned sharply up and to the left, brows drawn, mouth set, both arms raised overhead. He grips a long weapon-haft wrapped in red brocade-pattern binding (kanoko) that cuts across the upper sheet on a bold diagonal, its dark mount reaching into the top-right corner — a single, driving line of action that gives the design real momentum.

2. Paper:

Trimmed to the image with minimal margins, consistent with album mounting. The paper displays the expected character of over 160 years of age. Some minor toning overall; otherwise clean and stable. No significant damage, repairs, or losses.

3. Hayami Tōzaemon Mitsutaka — The Express Rider of Akō

Hayami Tōzaemon Mitsutaka was an umamawari (mounted guard) of the Akō house on a stipend of 150 koku — figures that appear at the head of the printed cartouche (馬廻り・知行百五十石). His place in the legend rests on one celebrated feat. He brought Akō the first report on the sword-fighting incident from Edo: when Lord Asano was condemned to death, Hayami Tōzaemon and Kayano Sanpei were sent as express messengers to the castle town to inform the Akō domain that its fate had been decided. The first dispatch to reach Akō came from Tōzaemon Hayami and Sanpei Kayano, the pair covering the long road from Edo in a punishing relay of barely four to five days — the dated lines in the cartouche (三月十四日 … 同十八日) preserve exactly this race against time.

Two years later he kept faith with the rest: among the band that broke into Kira's mansion on the night of the vendetta, he died with his comrades by seppuku on the 4th day of the 2nd month of Genroku 16 (1703), in his early forties. The seasoned messenger turned avenger is a fitting subject for so kinetic a portrait — Kunisada plays him for the drama of the raid itself, not for quiet repose.

4. The Seichū Gishi Den Series: Loyalty, Theatre, and the Forty-Seven Rōnin

Kunisada's Seichū Gishi Den is one of the artist's most ambitious late-career series, depicting all forty-seven loyal retainers plus key associated figures as portrayed by the leading kabuki actors of the day. It is a masterful fusion of two of Edo Japan's great cultural obsessions — the Chūshingura vendetta legend and the kabuki theatre.

Each print pairs a historical warrior with a contemporary actor, giving us both a gallery of heroes and a snapshot of the Edo theatre world at its peak. With its consistent design, bold compositions, and rich biographical texts, the series is a collector's treasure — each sheet adds another chapter to Japan's most beloved tale of loyalty and sacrifice.