About This Print
This print, in its two variations, pictures the character Hayano Kanpei from the play Kanadehon Chūshingura (TheTreasury of Loyal Retainers; a.k.a. The Forty-Seven Ronin). The play is based on the real-life Akō Incident (1701-1703) in which forty-seven retainers of Lord Asano (the character Enya Hangan in the play) take revenge against the shogun's court official Kira Yoshinaka (the character Ko no Moronao in the play), whose actions caused the death of their lord. The Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum Digital Archives Collection identifies the actor playing Hayano Kanpei as Ichimura Kakitsu IV 市村家橘, although the actor's name does not appear on the print.The cartouches in the upper right corners, onemulti-colored and the other yellow, give the name of the series, Legends of the Loyal Retainers, and the name of the character portrayed is given to the immediate left of these cartouches, in this case Hayano Kanpei 早野勘平. The background script may provide an account of Yuranosuke's role in the play or actual lines spoken by the character.
To read more about the representations of Chūshingura in woodblock prints see the article on this site Chūshingura (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers) in Woodblock Prints.
Hayano Kanpei and his real-life counterpart Kayano Sanpei
The theatrical adaptation of the Akō Incident, Kanadehon Chūshingura or simply Chūshingura, combined historical characters from the Akō Incident, assigning them thinly disguised fictitious names, along with unrelated historical characters and fictional characters, mostly added to spice up the play with erotica. Hayano Kanpei is the fictitious name in the play for the real-life Kayano Sanpei, a young retainer of Asano's, who was caught in the dilemma of agreeing to be part of the revenge plot against Kira and then being offered into the service of another lord by his parents. Trapped in a situation where he will either disgrace his family by not fulfilling their offer of his service or disgracing himself by not fulfilling his pledge of revenge, he commits suicide.
Three Related Series
Note: Please reference the images under "Three Related Series" on the page for the print Ōboshi Yuranosuke (IHL Cat. #630) for the below discussion.
The Actual Events: The Akō Incident (1701-03)
The so-called Akō Incident began on April 21, 1701, when the lord of Akō, Asano Naganori, drew his sword in a corridor of Edo Castle and slashed the senior bakufu protocol official, Kira Yoshinaka, in retaliation for a perceived slight. While Kira suffered only a light wound, Asano was arrested and ordered to commit seppuku later the same day, largely for drawing his sword in the Castle. His estate was confiscated and dissolved leaving his retainers without jobs, or as ronin. Forty-seven of these ronin signed an oath to avenge their lord by killing Kira and twenty-one months later attacked his Edo mansion, took his head, and marched across the city to the temple of Sengakuji, where they placed it before the grave of their master and surrendered. After almost two months of debate, the bakufu ordered the seppuku of the ronin and on March 20, 1703 they committed ritual suicide. Their ashes were interred at Sengakuji.Hayano Kanpei and his real-life counterpart Kayano Sanpei
The theatrical adaptation of the Akō Incident, Kanadehon Chūshingura or simply Chūshingura, combined historical characters from the Akō Incident, assigning them thinly disguised fictitious names, along with unrelated historical characters and fictional characters, mostly added to spice up the play with erotica. Hayano Kanpei is the fictitious name in the play for the real-life Kayano Sanpei, a young retainer of Asano's, who was caught in the dilemma of agreeing to be part of the revenge plot against Kira and then being offered into the service of another lord by his parents. Trapped in a situation where he will either disgrace his family by not fulfilling their offer of his service or disgracing himself by not fulfilling his pledge of revenge, he commits suicide. Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #631 and #927 |
| Title/Description | Hayano Kanpei 早野勘平 |
| Series | Legends of the Loyal Retainers (Gishi eimei den no uchi 義士英名伝(傳)之内) |
| Artist | Utagawa Kunisada II (1823-1880) |
| Signature | Baichōrō Kunisada ga 梅蝶楼国貞画 |
| Seal | None |
| Publication Date |  |
| Publisher |  Seal is absent on print #927. |
| Impression | #631 excellent #927 good |
| Colors | #631 excellent #927 excellent |
| Condition | #631 good - numerous worm holes repaired from back #927 - good - general soiling; minor wrinkling |
| Genre | ukiyo-e; yakusha-e |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Format | Vertical Oban |
| H x W Paper | #631 14 3/8 x 9 5/8 in. (36.5 x 24.4 cm) #927 14 5/8 x 9 3/4 in. (37.1 x 24.8 cm) |
| Collections This Print | The Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum of Waseda University 100-1478 |
| Reference Literature | |
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