Subject: The ronin Uramatsu Handayu Takanao (kabuki name) – falling backwards into the snow whilst making a sword cut, it was said his blade was so sharp, when he practiced, he brought down snow covered pine branches
Series: Seichu gishi den (Stories of the true loyalty of the faithful samurai)
Print No: 1.19
Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861)
Signature: Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga and kiri seal
Date: 1847-48
Cens: Yoshimura – Muramatsu
Publisher: Ebi-ya Rinnosuke
Size: Oban tate-e, 36.2 x 24.9 cm
Condition: Fine impression, colour and condition. Un-numbered state
Price: Not for sale at this stage
True name: Muramatsu Sandayū Takanao (村松 三太夫 高直)
Age: unknown
Katana mei: not documented, though the print text suggests the blade was made by Osafune Sukesada
Wakizashi mei: not documented
The tale of the text – with a little twist
Uramatsu Takanao was basically the Edo‑period equivalent of an action‑movie protagonist: six feet tall, built like a fortress, and strong enough to make pine trees nervous. His dad eventually became a priest, which probably helped balance out the family’s overall level of chaos.
One December day, Takanao picked up his freshly sharpened sword from Tazaemon, the local blade wizard. The sharpening job was so good that Takanao tipped him a whole bu, which in samurai terms is like leaving a five‑star review and a very enthusiastic comment.
Tazaemon, thrilled, brought out fish and sake. Takanao drank enough to start feeling invincible and asked what he could test his sword on. Tazaemon, realizing he had a very determined (and very drunk) samurai in his house, suggested the support pillar—probably thinking Takanao would just tap it.
Takanao instead shouted, swung, and sliced the pillar clean through at an angle. The sword was a Sukesada masterpiece, and Takanao’s technique was pure Shinkage (kenjutsu school) brilliance. To him, it felt like cutting a daikon. To Tazaemon, it felt like watching his house insurance premiums skyrocket.
After the famous night attack, word spread about “Tazaemon’s Pillar,” and curious visitors came to gawk at the architectural casualty.
During the assault itself, Takanao cut down Kasahara Chōshichi in the garden. This was the same man who, during practice, swung so powerfully that he once knocked a snow‑covered pine branch onto his own head, sending him to his backside. He found this hilarious and later told the story to his comrades, probably while rubbing the bruise.
Takanao: unstoppable force. Pine branch: immovable object.
Result: comedy.
For an accurate translation of the print text, I would encourage you to get the book: Kuniyoshi -The faithful samurai by David R Weinberg.