Utagawa HiroshigeJapanese, 1797–1858Prologue
May one see it?
Not receiving at present
Minneapolis, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
To prevent subversive performances, the government forbade the presentation of recent events. The playwrights of Chñshingura avoided censorship by adding a number of fictionalized subplots and by setting it in the 14th century. They also created names for their characters, though people soon figured out which theatrical character represented each historic personage. The disgraced lord Asano became Enya Hangan, and his enemy Kira became Kø no Moronao. Showing a scene from act 1, this print depicts the confrontation between Moronao and Enya's colleague Momoi Wakasanosuke, not Enya himself-another twist to the factual account. Gripping his sword hilt, Wakasanosuke, dressed in purple ceremonial attire, barely contains his anger. In black, Moronao provokingly waves his fan at him, as if fanning the young man's anger. The woman behind Wakasanosuke is Enya's wife, Kaoyo, who suffered Moronao's untoward romantic advances. Their demeanors well convey the tension among them, which ultimately results in the fatal event in act 3.
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Particulars
- Accession number
- P.78.65.77
In the catalog
Sources
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Image: Minneapolis Institute of Art — public domain
![Shinano Province, Moon Reflected in the Sarashina Paddy-fields, Mount Kyōdai (Shinano, Sarashina tagoto no tsuki, Kyōdaisan), from the series Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces [of Japan] ([Dai Nihon] Rokujūyoshū meisho zue), Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重, Edo period, 1853 (Kaei 6, 8th month)](https://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUAM:CARP04802_dynmc/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
