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Author: Utagawa Yoshitora (歌川芳虎).
Subject: Hara Gōemon Minamoto no Mototatsu (原郷右衛門源元辰).
Series: Biographies of the loyal retainers (chūshingishi meimei den, 忠臣義士銘々伝).
Number: 31/50(the syllable ya, や).
Genre: musha-e (武者絵), chūshingura (忠臣蔵).
Size: medium (chūban, 中判).
Publisher: Wakasaya Yoichi (若狭屋与市) here as Shiba Jakuyōhan (芝若与板).
Period: c. 1864.
Trimmed: no
Backed: no
Code: UTY01002
Condition: color is clear and paper is in good conditions. Few, but not remarkable, stains. No wrinkles nor
fixing.
Hara Gōemon Minamoto no Mototatsu was one of the 47 loyal retainers of Asano Naganori (浅野長矩) which
took part to the assault of Kira Yoshinaka's (吉良義央) mansion, killing him for avenging his Lord Asano.
Here he's knocking down a folding screen, probably looking for Kira.
His real name was actually Hara Sōemon Mototatsu (原惣右衛門元辰), but being any reference to the original
characters of the story prohibited and subject to censorship it was changed with a similar one.
This series from Yoshitora doesn't refers to each print using common numbers but with the syllables of the
Japanese Hiragana alphabet.