Title: The Secret Meeting between Ushiwakamaru and the Daughter of Kiichi Hōgen (Kiichi Hōgen ga hisho o miro) [鬼一法眼が秘書をみる]
Title (as per Okuda Atsuko, 2010): 牛若図会 鬼一法眼か書をみる The Reading the bible of martial arts of Kiichi Hôgen, from the series Scenes from the Life of Ushiwaka
Series: Scenes from the life of Ushiwaka (Ushiwaka zue) [牛若図会]
Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige [歌川 広重] a.k.a. Andō Hiroshige [安藤 広重] (Japanese, 1797 – 1858)
Signature: Hiroshige ga [廣重画]
Dimensions: Aiban yoko-e uchiwa-e, 226 x 303 mm.
Censor seal: Hama & Magome [濱 / 馬込]: 1/1849 – 2/1852 (Kaei 2-5)
Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. C. 1845 – 1847), seal: San [三] (Marks 11-001 | 127c).
Catalogue Raisonné: Okuda Atsuko 2010: № 140.
According to Rupert Faulkner (2001), another copy of this fan print is housed at Ōta Memorial Museum (ŌMM 1998, № 258). There are four other known prints from this series: (1) The Meeting at Yahagi: The Beginnings of the Jorurijunidan Story (Yahagi no Shuku Jorurijunidan no Hajime); (2) Ushiwakamaru practising swordsmanship at Sojogatani (ŌMM 1998, no.256); (3) Ushiwakamaru's encounter with Benkei on Gojo Bridge (Matsuki 1924, no.93); and (4) Ise no Saburo swearing an oath of loyalty to Ushiwakamaru (Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Cultural History).
Kiichi Hōgen [鬼一法眼] is a legendary monk and warrior who trained Ushiwakamaru (young Minamoto no Yoshitsune) in swordsmanship, tactics, and magic.
Another print (Ushiwakamaru's encounter with Benkei on Gojo Bridge) from this series is in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago under the title Killing One Thousand People at Gojo Bridge (Gojo no hashi sennin kiri).
Reference:
(1) [LIB-1344.2017] Rupert Faulkner. Hiroshige Fan Prints / Victoria and Albert Museum, Far Eastern Series. — London: V&A Publications; NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2001.
(2) [LIB-3426.2025] Christophe Marquet. Hiroshige: Les éventails d'Edo / Estampes de la collection Georges Leskowicz. — Paris: In fine, 2022.
(3) [LIB-3465.2025] Okuda Atsuko. Hiroshige’s Fan Prints: Unknown Ukiyo-e (Hiroshige no uchiwa-e, 広重の団扇絵 知られざる浮世絵). — Kyoto: Unsōdō, 2010.
"Kyōgoku Takigawa’s daughter Minazuru-hime passes the scroll Rokkan Sanryaku (Six Strategies and Three Plans) — a secret text of martial arts held by the strategist Kiichi Hōgen — to Ushiwaka (Yoshitsune), who is disguised and infiltrates Hōgen’s residence in Kyōto's Demachiyanagi district. This episode, based on a popular legend, was later dramatized in the kabuki play Kiichi Hōgen Sanryaku no Maki. This print depicts the scene where the daughter hands over the scroll to Ushiwaka."
[Thanks to Horst Graebner].
Additional Information
| Collection | Japanese prints and drawings |
|---|---|
| Country | Japan |
| Period | 19 AD , Edo period [江戸時代] (1603–1868) , Kaei era [嘉永] (1848–1854) , Mid-19th century |
| Media/Technique | Ink and color on paper , Woodblock print (nishiki-e) |
| School | Utagawa (歌川) |
| Series | Scenes from the life of Ushiwaka (Ushiwaka zue) [牛若図会] |
| Creation / Publishing year | 1849 , 1850 , 1851 , 1852 |
| Subject | 12th Century , Fan print , Heroes , Japan , Japanese history , Japanese woodblock prints , Kiichi Hōgen [鬼一法眼] , Legends , Minamoto no Yoshitsune [源 義経], Ushiwakamaru [牛若丸] (c. 1159 – 1189) |
| Size | Aiban yoko-e uchiwa-e , Fan print. Uchiwa-e |
| Catalogue raisonne | Okuda Atsuko (2010) |
| Acquisition year | 2025 |
