Zoe Lu: Samurai Ideality
Zoe Lu
This woodblock print of the kabuki play Chushingura is made by Utagawa Hiroshige in around 1840, more than a century after the incident and the original play. This print depicts the scene in Act Eleven of Chushingura, in which Yuranosuke and other retainers captured Moronao (Lord Kira), before they cut off his head to offer it to their deceased master. There are five samurai in the foreground, fully armed, forcing Moronao to the ground. Their faces show strong contempt and anger, reflecting the emotional turmoil at that fatal moment.
The form of the print, known as "ukiyo-e", becomes popular during the Tokugawa reign. The literal meaning of ukiyo-e is "the floating world”[1], and it is intended for a broad audience, including the commoners, as part of the transient, popular culture. Thus following the popular trend, this print obviously endorses the righteousness of the action of ronins. The retainers are created as resolute and serious, while Moronao’s face is depicted to elicit aversion. On the lanterns the ronins hold there is also the Japanese kanji for "loyalty". Given that in such situation the ronins will by no means carry such lantern, it is a strong artistic implication on creator’s part, emphasizing the righteousness of their action.
The print is also different from the earlier version in some aspects. In the original play, the ronins consider the decorum of Moronao's execution, and Yuranosuke "taking him from Jutaro, he makes Moronao sit in the place of honor". [2] The print obviously did not reflect this detail, as Moronao is depicted in the process of being captured, and his posture is fixed in a disgraceful, subdued form, most likely because of the preference of the commoners for the taste of absolute vengeance.
To understand the print, we must first consider the time when the incident itself happened. It is a time when critics focused heavily on Confucianism in addressing the incident of 47 ronins. Asami Keisai argues that " they possessed a Confucian nobility of character and were true examples of loyalty and righteousness".[3] At that time, the general public, in celebrating their action, share a distinct understanding of what is righteous. The popularity of these figures in 1840, however, shows that this spirit of such loyalty is still endorsed well after its time. Samurai virtues are to be upheld, and the population still enjoys seeing the old story. In 1840 Japan is on the verge of opening up to the world, and the celebration of such virtue implies cultural confrontation between original values of Japanese samurai and modern moral norm.
What's more important is perhaps the question as to whom samurai should owe their loyalty. During the time, influential daimyo has great autonomy, and in whether opening up to the west, their opinions start to rival that of the shogunate, as reflected in the failing case of Abe Masahiro.[4] The loyalty that samurai owes to their lord, therefore, can sometimes breach the order of the realm. It is, however, at that time, a phenomenon that bakufu can hardly contend. Further references to the condition of samurai culture at the time should give a better sense of the larger picture.
[1] Andrew Gordon, A Modern History of Japan. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002, 39.
[2] Takeda Izumo, Miyoshi Shoraku, Namiki Senryu, Chusingura, trans. Donald Keene. New York: Columbia University Press, 1971, 176.
[3] Asami Keisai. “Essay on the Forty-Six Samurai.” Theodore de Bary et al, eds. Sources of Japanese Tradition. New York: Columbia University Press, 457.
[4] David L.Howell. “Men in Black Ship.” Harvard University, Cambridge. 24 September. 2014. Lecture.