Ako City 70th Anniversary ProjectInternational Symposium
Chūshingura Ukiyo-e
February 11 (Friday), 2022
Time:13:30 JST (approx. 3 hours)
Livestream from the Ako City Culture Hall, Japan!
QR code fordatabase entrance.

This symposium is held in Japanese.
No participation fees.

Register here↓↓bit.ly/akosym

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For inquiries, please contact ：Art Research Center(ARC), Ritsumeikan University

Email ： r-darc@st.ritsumei.ac.jp●Organizer:
Chūshingura Ukiyo-e International
Symposium Executive Committee●Co-organizer:
Ako City
Ako City Board of Education
Ako Culture and Midori Foundation
Ako GishikaiArt Research Center (ARC),Ritsumeikan University

Topic: Spreading the Legend of Chūshingura to the WorldPart 1：Individual Presentations

Ryo Akama (Professor, Ritsumeikan University)

ʻRevisiting the 12-sheets series of Chūshingura ukiyo-e focused on Kuniyoshiʼ

Kenichiro Ishibashi (Kabuki Researcher)ʻReading ukiyo-e of Kanadehon chūshingura from a perspective of the History of Performing Artsʼ

Satoko Shimazaki (Associate Professor, UCLA)＊

ʻFrom World to Character: Chūshingura Prints in the First Half of the Nineteenth Centuryʼ

Annegret Bergmann (Project Associate Professor, The University of Tokyo)
ʻChūshingura of the Meiji period reﬂected in ukiyo-eʼPart 2：Keynote Speech

Andrew Gerstle (Emeritus Professor, SOAS, University of London)＊ʻAre the Depictions of Loyalty, Heroism, Tragedy in Kanadehon chūshingura universal?ʼ

Part 3：Panel Discussion

Andrew Gerstle / Kenichiro Ishibashi / Annegret Bergmann / Satoko Shimazaki＊
Coordinator: Ryo Akama＊Remote Participation

Chūshingura Ukiyo-e International Symposium Executive Committee
Secretariat: Editorial Oﬃce for the History of Ako City, Ako City Board of Education

Ako City 70th Anniversary ProjectInternational Symposium Chūshingura Ukiyo-e

This international symposium introduces the changes and characteristics of Chūshingura
Ukiyo-e while discussing the signiﬁcance of publishing information through the Ako City
Chūshingura Ukiyo-e Database and directions for using the database.
Commemorating the 70th anniversary of Ako City, the symposium is held to promote
Chūshingura Ukiyo-e to people in Japan and abroad and facilitate the use of theChūshingura Ukiyo-e Database.

International Symposium
Chūshingura Ukiyo-e

Digital Exhibition Now Open!
Exhibition construction and cooperation : Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University

Exhibit I“Various Scenes Depicting the Act of Revenge”

Exhibit II “Ōboshi Yuranosuke ★ The Leader of the Loyal Retainers”

Ako City ｗebsite（http://www.city.ako.lg.jp）
Accessed from the entrance of the Ako City Chūshingura Ukiyo-e Database!

■Keynote Speech： Andrew Gerstle (Emeritus Professor, SOAS, University of London)

ʻAre the Depictions of Loyalty, Heroism, Tragedy in Kanadehon chūshingura universal?ʼ
■Abstract
The Akō 47 Rōnin incident was relayed in English to Europeans as early as 1822 in theDutch East India Co. oﬃcial Isaac Titsinghʼ s Illustrations of Japan . Since then from theMeiji period onwards scholars of history and the arts have, when discussing ideals of
samurai loyalty and heroes, referred to this ʻChūshinguraʼ incident. Recently ThomasHarper has published a historical novel, 47: the True Story of the Vendetta of the 47
Rōnin of Akō (2019), based on the historical sources, the most impressive work on thisIncident to date.
In my talk, I will examine the portrayal of the main characters in the Jōruri and Kabuki
play Kanadehon chūshingura (1748) to consider how the tragic consequences ofabsolute loyalty are depicted.