Roraishi, from the series Mirror of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety

The book Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety was compiled in China during the Yuan Dynasty (1280–1368). Like many Chinese classics, it provided subject matter for countless prints in the Edo period. Here, seventy-year-old Roraishi dons children’s clothing and dances in front of his parents, who are in their nineties, convincing them that they are not so old if their son acts so childlike. The son and aged parents, in the foreground, wear distinct Chinese costumes in a setting furnished with a Chinese-style bench and single-panel screen. Kuniyoshi renders the garments and tapestry with elaborate patterns and attempts chiaroscuro shading inspired from imported engravings. The three gesturing figures in the background are completely extraneous to the story and are directly appropriated from European images.