Clifton Karhu - Chushingura Senzaki Yagoro

Modern | Sōsaku Hanga Woodblock Print

Clifton Karhu’s 1966 print offers a formal, modern portrait of Senzaki Yagorô Noriyasu - warrior-poet and one of the Forty-Seven Ronin - dressed in kimono and holding a finely detailed kiseru (煙管) tobacco pipe, a symbol of status in early 17th-century Japan. 🏯🗡️

• Year & Edition: 1966 · Ed. of 50 (1/50) (titled, editioned & signed in pencil to plate).
• Medium: Woodblock.
• Dimensions: Sheet W: 28.25 cm × H: 39.50 cm.
• Condition: Fabulous; no marks or blemishes; colour remains strong and vibrant; paper clean, crisp & intact.
• Notes: This work belongs to the celebrated Chushingura (忠臣蔵, “Treasury of Loyal Retainers”) tradition - also known in the West as the Tale of the Forty-Seven Ronin - commemorating the rōnin’s vengeance for their lord Asano Naganori, whose memorial sits at Tokyo’s Sengakuji Temple. Karhu’s portrayal echoes the classic ukiyo-e series Biographies of Loyal and Righteous Samurai (誠忠義士傳) by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, particularly the renditions of Senzaki Yagorô, while the inclusion of the kiseru pipe underscores the samurai’s cultured refinement.

About the Artist

Clifton Karhu (1927-2007) was an American-born woodblock printmaker who spent most of his life in Kyoto. His bold lines and vivid colours captured the character of Kyoto’s machiya townhouses and quiet backstreets, earning him recognition both in Japan and internationally. His works are held in major museum collections around the world. Karhu’s legacy lives on through his family and The Tolman Collection, his long-time representatives. Today, his son Joel Karhu continues the tradition with a striking printmaking practice of his own. [ ← View All Works by Clifton Karhu]