10 Utagawa Kunisada 1786 – 1865 The Attack on Ko no Moronao’s Mansion

This print depicts a climactic scene from the kabuki play Kanadehon Chūshingura, recounting the legendary 18th-century tale of the forty-seven rōnin. The villain Kō no Moronao, whose malice drove the rōnin’s lord to commit ritual suicide (seppuku), is shown on the ground desperately defending himself with a bundle of straw against the attack of Ōboshi Yuranosuke, his son Ōboshi Rikiya, and their loyal retainer Teraoka Heiemon.

Kunisada’s masterful use of kabuki theatricality—exaggerated gestures, strong diagonals, and richly patterned costumes—imbues the composition with dynamic tension and moral gravity. The scene embodies both righteous vengeance and the tragic inevitability of its fulfillment, culminating in the self-sacrifice of all forty-seven loyal retainers.