[Ronin, or masterless Samurai, lunging forward] – Historic Reproduction
![[Ronin, or masterless Samurai, lunging forward] — historic print](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/30/3098391ce5b5-L.webp)
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
This rare historic print captures [Ronin, or masterless Samurai, lunging forward] in remarkable detail. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.
The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. It brings character to any room and makes a memorable gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
[Ronin, or masterless Samurai, lunging forward]
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A masterless samurai, or ronin, is caught mid-lunge with his blade drawn, the sword and the body's full weight committed to a single strike. The print dates to 1869, the first year of the Meiji era, when the Tokugawa shogunate had fallen and the samurai class was losing the status and stipends that once defined it. Ronin were warriors without a lord, and by this time they had become a popular figure in Japanese prints, often shown as men caught between a vanished order and an uncertain future. The color woodcut form, with its bold outlines and flat fields of ink, gives the swordsman a stark, dramatic presence.
| Medium | 1 print : woodcut, color. |
|---|---|
| Genre | dreams and substances |
| Notes | [1869] |
| Subjects | Samurai--Japan--1860-1870. Daggers & swords--Japan--1860-1870. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 3,691 × 4,557 px · prints to 12 × 15 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-222066 |
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