Act 11, Part 1: The Approach to the Night Attack (Juichidanme ichi, yochi oshiyose), from the series "The Revenge of the Loyal Retainers (Chushingura)"

Hiroshige enhanced the dramatic impact of his series by expanding the final act into six separate scenes; the last three are not based on the kabuki play. This image has been described as the masterpiece of the series and depicts the (revenge of the) ronin on a very snowy, isolated evening starting their march on Kira’s home. The whole group crosses a bridge out of Kamakura (Edo) near Kira’s mansion. At the lower right, there is an escape boat (not seen in the play) that ensures, in the event of a counterattack by Kira’s supporters, that several ronin would be able to flee with the proof of Kira’s death.