Japan, 1890This unnumbered print from the series Kyōdō risshi no motoi (Instructive Models of Lofty Ambition) was designed by Mizuno Toshikata. The scene depicts Takayama Hikokurō (1747–1793), famously known as one of the "three eccentrics (Sankijin) of the Kansei era" and a fierce proponent of reverence for, and loyalty to, the emperor. In this dynamic composition, he angrily tosses aside a book detailing shogun Ashikaga Takauji's usurpation of imperial authority. (Ashikaga defeated the Imperial Court in 1336, establishing a shogunate that ruled Japan until 1573.) The son of a wealthy mid-Edo period farmer, Takayama was renowned for his travels across the country and his deep devotion to the imperial court. His actions eventually made him the subject of an investigation by shogunate authorities, which ended in his suicide in 1793. Toshikata contributed a total of 16 prints to this series.