The Night Attack in Act XI of the Play "Kanadehon Chūshingura"

One of the leading masters of nineteenthcentury Japanese printmaking, Kuniyoshi vividly described famous military exploits in his dynamic and imaginative woodblock prints. His exploration of perspective and evocative shading are evident in this vibrant moonlit landscape in which Kuniyoshi interprets the famous Act XI of Chushingura, the night attack by the ronin in the service of Enya Hangan on the house of their enemy Moronao. When Enya was ordered to commit suicide after drawing his sword in the shogun's palace, his men swore to avenge him, and, on the anniversary of his death, attacked Moronao's mansion. Here the leader Oboshi Yuranosuke, positioned in the right foreground, directs the attack while his men begin to scale the walls and a samurai at the left throws rice balls to distract the dogs.

Ainsworth purchased this fine, early impression by Kuniyoshi in 1921 from the Van Canegham Collection at a sale held by the Walpole Galleries in Delmonico's restaurant on Fifth Avenue in New York City.