74 Mizuno Toshikata 1866 – 1908 Ōishi Yoshio

from the series Kyōdō risshi no moto (“Instructive Models of Lofty Ambition”)
publisher: Matsuki Heikichi

This print from the later part of the series Kyōdō risshi no moto depicts Ōishi Kuranosuke Yoshio (1659–1703), leader of the Forty-seven Rōnin, surrounded by female entertainers under a full moon. The scene refers to the episode in which Ōishi feigned a life of indulgence among the geisha of Kyoto to deceive his enemies into believing he had abandoned his plan for revenge.
In truth, he was secretly preparing the retribution for the death of his lord, Asano Naganori — an act later celebrated as the epitome of samurai loyalty.

Mizuno Toshikata, a leading student of Kobayashi Kiyochika, combines realistic drawing and soft tonal effects with the moral gravity of the samurai code. His depiction of Ōishi is not overtly heroic but introspective — a moment of discipline, strategy, and moral strength. It is among the few woodblock representations of the historical Ōishi Yoshio rather than his kabuki counterpart, Ōboshi Yuranosuke, from the dramatized Chūshingura legend.