Chūshingura Between Innovation and Artistic Experimentation

Kanadehon Chūshingura, better known as Chūshingura (The Treasury of the Loyal Retainers) is one of the most interpreted and popular plays in the kabuki repertoire. The story of the 47 samurai (rōnin) and their strenuous sense of honour and loyalty towards their lord became a central theme in theatrical representations and in ukiyoe (images of the Floating World). During the Edo period, great masters of this genre dealt with this fascinating story. Overcoming the restrictions imposed by the censorship, printed representations of Chūshingura, proved to be a perfect opportunity to experiment new ways of describing historical events both through technical innovations (ukie prints i.e.) or subtle allusions (mitate). Actors of the kabuki theatre and courtesans of the pleasure quarters became the contemporary interpreters of the values of the samurai who, through their self-sacrifice (seppuku), affirmed the power of these ethical principles.