Subject: The ronin Tokuda Magodayu Shigemori (kabuki name) – beside a tall printed screen
Series: Seichu gishi den (Stories of the true loyalty of the faithful samurai)
Print No: 1.37
Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861)
Signature: Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga and kiri seal
Date: 1847-48
Cens: Hama – Kinugasa
Publisher: Ebi-ya Rinnosuke
Size: Oban tate-e, 36.2 x 24.8 cm
Condition: Very good impression, good colour and condition, some marks and soiling, slightly trimmed Numbered state (though I am not entirely convinced this print exists in an un-numbered state)
Price: Not for sale at this stage
True name: Okuda Magodayū Shigemori (奥田 孫太夫 重盛)
Age: 57
Katana mei: Kunitaka, length 2 shaku 4 sun
Wakizashi mei: unknown, length 1 shaku 6 sun
The tale of the text – with a little twist
Shigemori was fifty years old and still fighting like a man who had never once heard his knees crack. A Shintō‑school swordsman with the reflexes of a startled cat, he and his son Tadaemon marched into the enemy mansion right behind Oboshi, ready to settle old scores.
Inside, Shigemori spotted a man who looked suspiciously like Moronao and thought, “Ah, perfect—target acquired.” He was about two seconds from turning Moroyasu (Moronao’s son) into a historical footnote when a whistle blew. Shigemori froze mid‑strike, probably thinking, “Wait… wrong villain.”
With the grace of someone pretending that absolutely nothing embarrassing had happened, he pivoted and sprinted toward the real action.
He arrived just in time to see Yazama, Takebayashi, and the others finishing off Moronao. The warriors erupted in a victorious cheer, the kind that says, “Months of planning and emotional turmoil finally paid off.”
Meanwhile, Yabei and Magodayu quietly slipped out as the last to leave—like guests sneaking away from a party after helping clean up the mess.
For an accurate translation of the print text, I would encourage you to get the book: Kuniyoshi -The faithful samurai by David R Weinberg.