Parody of act VII of the play "Treasury of Loyal Retainers (Chushingura)"

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

This print is another parody of the scene in Act VII where a young man reads a long letter on the veranda of a pleasure house. Above him, on a balcony, a courtesan of the house reads the coded letter by looking into a small mirror. Below, the matron of the house crawls out from under the veranda and calls out to the young man. This “tall” episode from the play easily lent itself to the form of the pillar print, earning its name because it could be mounted on the narrow pillars in Edo homes.

Source ↗