Night Rain on the Mountain Road

Catalog note / 解説

This 'uchiwa-e' (rigid fan print) design is by Hiroshige. It is from a series in which the artist used the 'Hakkei' or Eight Views formula to depict episodes from a play. The 11-act 'Kanadehon Chushingura' ('The Treasury of Loyal Retainers') is one of the best-known Japanese plays. It is based on the true story of how the 47 retainers of Ako avenged the death of their master Asano Naganori. The shogunal authorities sentenced them to commit suicide by 'seppuku' (ritual disembowelling). They were buried near their master's grave in the Sengakuji Temple in Edo (modern Tokyo). The dead retainers personnified the samurai principle of absolute loyalty to one's lord. The double comma motif surroun…