Titled ‘chūshingura Act XI, Scene I: The Night Attack Advances’ (‘jūichidan-me ichi, yochi oshiyose’ 忠臣蔵 十一段目一　夜打押寄), the artwork is part of a series based on the highly acclaimed kabuki epic chūshingura (忠臣蔵).

Chūshingura is a fictionalized account of the Akō Incident of 1701. The historical event revolves around 47 rōnins - masterless samurai - and their mission to exact honor for the demise of their lord. Although the rōnins were rightfully punished for their unlawful act - the story celebrates the key themes of unity, perseverance, loyalty, and self-sacrifice, making it one of Japan's most familiar historical stories.

These themes are best seen in this particular scene where the rōnins cross Ryugoku bridge in the shadows of the night while two comrades proceed with preparations in the foreground. Despite understanding the risk, the loyalty and fierce determination of the retainers push them to continue onwards in the bitter cold. The warriors were prepared to sacrifice themselves to carry out their final act of loyalty towards their master.

‘Chūshingura is a cultural phenomenon of a scale, complexity, and durability unusual in world history. Candidates for comparison might be King Arthur for England, Jeanne d’Arc for France, the Song of Ch’un-hyang for Korea, or the Alamo for the United States.’ 

- Henry D Smith, 2003 Monumenta Nipponica.

Famed Confucian philosopher Ogyū Sorai (荻生 徂徠 - 1666-1728) in his deliberations and sentencing of the ronin: “By righteousness we mean the path of keeping oneself free from any taint, and by law we mean the measuring rod for the entire country. A man controls his heart with decorum and his actions with righteousness. But they deliberately planned an act of violence without official permission. This is not to be tolerated under the law.”