One of the most dramatic vendettas in Japanese history revolves around the forty-seven ronin. In 1701, after attacking the shogun’s master of ceremonies, Kira Yoshinaka, Lord Asano Naganori of Akō, was forced to commit seppuku (self-disembowelment), leaving his loyal samurai masterless—ronin. More than a year later, forty-seven of the ronin sought out and killed Yoshinaka, avenging their master.
Plays and ukiyo-e prints based on this narrative were hugely popular. A great innovator, Utagawa Hiroshige demonstrates his immense talent for landscape in this print, illustrating the ronin trudging through chilling snow beneath an ominous black sky on their way to take revenge.