(Scene from Act 10 of play, Amakawaya scene, Gihei's shop)

Katsushika Hokusai, artist

1760–1849

(Scene from Act 10 of play, Amakawaya scene, Gihei's shop), 1800s, Edo period (1600–1868)

Portfolio/Series title: Chūshingura (Story of Forty-Seven Rōnin)

Where object was made: Japan

Material/technique: color woodcut

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 178 x 275 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 7 x 10 13/16 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 182 x 280 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 7 3/16 x 11 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 14 x 19 in

Credit line: William Bridges Thayer Memorial

Accession number: 0000.1688

Not on display

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Label texts

Exhibition Label:
"The Art of Stories Told," Jun-2004, Veronica de Jong
The central figure of this scene is the merchant Gihei who is helping provide the ronin (master-less samurai) with their weapons. This rather comic moment shows him kicking his father-in-law out of his home while his son and manservant watch from behind a wall. Gihei could not trust his wife or father-in-law to keep secret his involvement in the plot, and because Gihei sent his wife back to her father, the father-in-law wanted his daughter divorced. Gihei doesn’t intend to divorce his wife and so he is shown dismissing his father-in-law in an unfilial manner.