Subject: The ronin Senzaki Yagoro Noriyasu (kabuki name) – running with his spear in hand
Series: Seichu gishi den (Stories of the true loyalty of the faithful samurai)
Print No: 1.12
Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861)
Signature: Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga and kiri seal
Date: 1847-48
Cens: Hama – Kunigasa
Publisher: Ebi-ya Rinnosuke
Size: Oban tate-e, approx 37.6 x 25.4 cm
Condition: Very good impression, good colour and condition, some edge nicks, some marks, binding holes repaired, slightly trimmed. Un-numbered state
Price: Not for sale at this stage
True name: Kanzaki Yogorō Noriyasu (神崎 与五郎 則休)
Age: Unknown
Katana mei: Not documented
Wakizashi mei: not documented
The tale of the text – with a little twist
Senzaki Yagorō came from a long line of samurai, which sounds impressive until you learn that as a kid he once accidentally killed his cousin. Family reunions were probably tense after that.
He grew up into a well‑rounded warrior: skilled in martial arts, fond of reading, and enthusiastic about writing poetry — the kind of guy who could defeat you in battle and then compose a tasteful haiku about it.
After the Akao clan fell, Yagorō went undercover in the Kantō region under the extremely subtle alias Mimasakaya Zenbei. His cover job? Selling fans. Yes — fans. Nothing screams “totally not a spy” like wandering around town hawking folding fans while secretly observing your enemies. In his spare time, he created an illustrated chronicle of the loyal retainers’ exploits. Whenever he got too agitated — which was often — he’d sit down with a comrade and flip through it like a samurai scrapbook to calm his nerves.
His only family was his elderly mother, who was fully on board with the revenge plot. When he told her about the secret oath, she praised Oboshi like he’d just invented sliced bread. Mother and son were united in purpose… perhaps a little too united. Worried that her existence might distract him from glorious vengeance, she gave him a pep talk that basically said, “Don’t you dare embarrass me by hesitating.” Then she went to bed cheerful — and the next day committed suicide to remove herself as a potential excuse. Extreme parenting, Edo‑style.
Yagorō was devastated. Now he wasn’t just avenging his lord — he was avenging his mother, too. With grief in his heart and indignation powering him like rocket fuel, he set out with the calm determination of a man who has absolutely nothing left to lose.
For an accurate translation of the print text, I would encourage you to get the book: Kuniyoshi -The faithful samurai by David R Weinberg.