Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII as Ōboshi Yuranosuke

The print bears the censor’s stamp aratame (revised), the Tiger dating stamp, the mark of the publisher Kagaya Kichiemon and the carver’s mark Take. Ōboshi Yuranosuke was the leader of the 47 loyal rōnins in the drama Kanadehon Chūchingura. He pretends to be an alcoholic leading a Bohemian lifestyle to conceal any hint of the revenge for which he is preparing. He and the other conspirators wait two years to execute it, and proceed despite the fact that, in accordance with contemporary law, all of them will be condemned to ritual suicide after their revenge. The tombs of the loyal rōnins next to the Sengakuji monastery in Tokyo remain a site of Confucian reverence to this day. (See Helena Honcoopová, Kunisada, Praha 2005, p. 145)