ICHIO (ACT. 19TH CENTURY)

ICHIO (ACT. 19TH CENTURY)
CHUSHINGURA ZUGA, HITO (FIGURES FROM THE TREASURY OF LOYAL RETAINERS)
EDO PERIOD, DATED 1835 and 1841

A Japanese makimono (handscroll painting), ink and colour on paper, painted with the story of the Forty-Seven Rōnin, illustrating their mission to avenge the death of their master; with various scenes including the famous seppuku of samurai Asano Naganori with death poem reading as 'Oh, I am so happy! I realised my desire and it is time to die. There is no cloud on the moon of my life'; and many other portraits of famous samurai and calligraphy; signed Ichio hitsu and sealed Shuyu; also inscribed 'painted in the 11^th month of the Kansei 7^th year (1795), additionally painted in the late 9^th month of the Tempo 6^th year (1835), [...] copied and painted from an earlier original, on a day in summer in the Tempo 12^th year (1841) by Ichio, with the seals Shuyu and Senkisai', 31.5cm x 1240cm.

Provenance: from the Estate of a Collector, Heath House, Hampshire, and thence by descent. By repute, acquired in Asia at the turn of the 19th century.