Subject: The ronin Katsuta Shinemon Taketaka (kabuki name) – holding a lantern aloft, discovers a dog at his heels
Series: Seichu gishi den (Stories of the true loyalty of the faithful samurai)
Print No: 1.23
Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861)
Signature: Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga and kiri seal
Date: 1847-48
Cens: Mera – Murata
Publisher: Ebi-ya Rinnosuke
Size: Oban tate-e, 37.2 x 25.3 cm
Condition: Fine impression, very good colour and condition. Numbered
Price: Not for sale at this stage
True name: Katsuta Shinzaemon Taketaka (勝田 新左衛門 武尭)
Age: unknown
Katana mei: not documented
Wakizashi mei: not documented
The tale of the text – with a little twist
Takataka was the kind of man who treated danger like a mild inconvenience—like a squeaky floorboard or a stubborn jar lid. So when he scampered up a ladder “like a monkey,” it wasn’t a metaphor. It was practically his brand.
Perched on the roof, he gazed down at the Kono mansion glowing in the moonlight like someone had polished it for a festival. He took one look and basically said, “Yep. Time to cause problems.” He hopped down inside, found the gate locked, and reacted with the calm professionalism of a man ordering lunch: “Sledge! Sledge!”
Moments later, his team rolled up with a 150‑pound battering ram—because apparently subtlety had the night off. They smashed the gate open with the enthusiasm of people who really hate gates.
A gatekeeper stumbled out in his pajamas, confused and half‑awake. Takataka “took appropriate action,” which in samurai terms usually means “the gatekeeper immediately regretted waking up.”
Inside, the mansion dissolved into pandemonium. People sprinted around in their underwear, children screamed, and several individuals decided the veranda was the safest place to become a temporary subterranean creature. The attackers, however, were laser‑focused and completely uninterested in the household drama.
Takataka reached the room of Moronao’s son, only to find it looking like someone had fled so fast they left behind their dignity and their bedding. On the table sat a brush and ink-stone—an irresistible opportunity.
Shinemon, clearly the group’s designated snark specialist, grabbed the brush and wrote a note on the sliding door that basically said: “The Akao ronin stopped by. Sorry we missed you. Next time leave a forwarding address.” Then, satisfied with this act of calligraphic trolling, he marched on to Moronao’s quarters.
For an accurate translation of the print text, I would encourage you to get the book: Kuniyoshi -The faithful samurai by David R Weinberg.