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Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Ōju Toyokuni ga [応需豊国画], in a toshidama cartouche. Double nanushi censor seals Mera & Murata (1846-50). Publisher: Kojimaya Jūbei [小嶋屋重兵衛] (Japanese, fl. c. 1797 – 1869). Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII [市川団十郎] (Ichikawa Ebizō VI, Ichikawa Shinnosuke II, Japanese, 1823 – 1854) watches the sunrise over Mount Fuji. The complete set of series Moon, Sun, Stars [月日星] (tsuki-hi-hoshi/boshi), three sources of light (sankō) [三光]: -
Untrimmed fan print (uchiwa-e), 231 x 300 mm. Title: A geisha eating edamame aboard the boat of the Atari-ya teahouse. Series: Three summer women [九夏三婦久] (Kyūka sanfuku). Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Artist: Utagawa Kunihisa II [歌川国久] a.k.a. Katsuda Hisatarō, Ichiunsai, Ritchōrō, Toyonobu, Yōryūsai, Yōsai] (Japanese, 1832 – 1981). Block cutter: Yokokawa Horitake [横川彫武] a.k.a. Yokokawa Takejiro [横川竹二郎] (Japanese, fl. 1860s). Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. C. 1845 – 1847) Combined date seal and kiwame censor seal: 1860 (Ansei 7 / Man'en 1 from 18/III). Signed: Toyokuni ga in toshidama cartouche, and Kunihisa ga. Provenance: The Collection of Paul F. Walter, Christie's, New York, 2017, lot 341; sol together with 5 other fan prints for $25,000. Before: Israel Goldman, Japanese Prints, Catalogue 9, 2003, no. 35. Ref: [LIB-1693.2018] The Collection of Paul Walter. — NY: Christie's, 2017, p. 363. Ref: Israel Goldman, Catalogue 2018, № 52: "Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) and Utagawa Kunihisa II (1832-1891) A Geisha Eating Edamame Aboard the Boat of the Atari-ya Teahouse. From the series Kyuka sanfuku (Three Summer Women). 1860. Fan print. 22.7 x 29.6 cm. Provenance: Israel Goldman, Japanese Prints, Catalogue 9, 2003, no. 35. The Collection of Paul F. Walter, Christies, New York, 201, lot 341. Fine impression, colour and condition. The title is a pun on “kyuka sanpuku” meaning the hottest point of the summer. The background view is by Kunisada’s pupil Kunihisa." -
Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Artists signature: Kunisada ga [国貞画] in a red double-gourd cartouche. Character: Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjūrō VII [七代目 市川 團十郎]; other names: Ichikawa Ebizō V, Ichikawa Shinnosuke I (Japanese, 1791 – 1859). Series: Six choice modern flowers [當世六花撰] (Tosei rok’kasen). No publisher's seal, no date or censor's seal is present. Size: Fan print (aiban uchiwa-e); 232 x 289 mm. Provenance: Paul F. Walter. Izzard: "... six prints make up this set of fan prints, which compares contemporary artists with classic poets, in this case, Ichikawa Danjūrō VII with Ōtomo no Kuronushi [大友 黒主] (Japanese, dates unknown)". Rok'kasen [六歌仙] – six poetry immortals. According to Izzard, identification of the portrayed person is made possible by mimasu-mon [三升] on the robe, scrolling peony on the back of the mirror, and cloth decorated with the characters Yauan, one of the actor's poetry names, and other signs and symbols, including the inscription of the acter's guild name Naritaya. The absence of the publisher’s emblem and censorship seals may indicate that this was a privately issued print, not for public use. Ref: (1) [LIB-2967.2022] Utagawa Kunisada (1786 – 1865): His world revisited / Catalogue № 17, Exhibition March 17-21, 2021. — NY: Sebastian Izzard, LLC., 2021; p. 130-1, fig. 42). (2) Lyon Collection. Mimasu-mon, or Mitsumasu, is the Ichikawa Danjūrō family crest – three wooden measures, nested square boxes.
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Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞]; a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a red toshidama cartouche. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. C. 1845 – 1847), seal: San [三] (Marks 11-001 | 127c). Block carver: Matsushima Fusajirō [松嶋房次郎] (Japanese, fl. 1843 – 1850); seal [彫工房] – Hori kō Fusa (Gordon Friese № 134). Double nanushi censor seal: Kunigasa & Watanabe (1849-50). Actor: Iwai Hanshirō VIII [岩井半四郎] (Japanese, 1829 – 1882); other names: Iwai Shijaku II, Iwai Kumesaburō III [岩井粂三郎], Iwai Hisajirō II. Play: Yukari no Hana Iro mo Yoshiwara [紫花色吉原], performed at the Kawarazaki Theater (Edo) from the 5th day of the 5th lunar month of Kaei 3 (1850) (see Kabuki Playbill at MFA (Boston) № 11.27996).
A famous Yoshiwara courtesan named Manjiya Yatsuhashi [万字屋 八ツ橋] was killed by a provincial commoner Sano Jirōzaemon [佐野次郎左衛門] (on the second sheet of the pair):
Another Kunisada's print with the same characters in the same play and same performance can be seen at MFA (Boston) № 11.40190.
SVJP-0298.2019: Ichikawa Ebizō V as Sano Jirōzaemon.
SVJP-0297.2019: Iwai Kumesaburō III as Manjiya Yatsuhashi
One more example can be seen in the two upper images at Waseda University Cultural Resources Database, № 006-2707:
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Artist: Utagawa Sadahide [歌川 貞秀], a.k.a. Gountei Sadahide [五雲亭 貞秀] (1807 – c. 1878/9). Publisher: Iseya Ichiemon [伊勢屋市右衛門] (Japanese, fl. c 1823 – 1864), seal name Kaku-Tsuji [角辻]. Signed: Gountei Sadahide ga [五雲亭貞秀画] Censor's seal: kiwame, date seal: Tenpō 3 (1832). Size: Uncut fan print (uchiwa-e); 218 x 282 mm. Portrait of a young woman dressed in a green kimono decorated with arabesque (karakusa) and flowers, her black obi adorned with a dragon, in a western-style frame, on a blue background; and a painting of a parrot on a pomegranate tree. A similar design was used by Sadahide in 1860, described in detail by Sebastian Izzard in his Japanese Prints of the Mid-Nineteenth Century: 1830–1865, September 20–October 24, 2006 exhibition: Picture of a Curio Shop in Yokohama: reverse painting on glass of a crimson parrot, coloured copperplate engraving of a mother and child (Yokohama urimono mise no zu: gyokuban abura-e, doban-e saishiki). Colour woodblock print: oban tate-e, 143/8 x 93/4 in. (36.5 x 24.8 cm.); Man-en I/3 (3/1860) Series: Picture of Goods for Sale in Yokohama (Yokohama urimono zue no uchi) Signature: Gountei Sadahide ga, double toshidama seal Publisher: Daikokuya Kinnosuke.
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Superb Edo pictures illustrating dances (Odori keiyô Edo-e no sakae): Interior of an imaginary theater with a performance of Shibaraku 「踊形容江戸絵栄」. Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Publisher: Nōshūya Yasubei (Japanese, fl. c. 1851 – 1870). Year: 1858 (Ansei 5), 7th month. Size: Vertical ôban triptych; 36.9 x 75.7 cm. Signed: 一陽斎雛獅豊国筆(年玉印) – Ichiyôsai Hinashi Toyokuni ga (on left sheet only). Censor's seal: Horse 7 [午七 彫師]. Subject: Shibaraku. Ref.: MFA impression: 11.44263a-c; Robert Schaap. Kunisada (2016), p. 101 [LIB-1212.2017]. Ref.: [LIB-1197.2016] Arendie and Henk Herwig. Heroes of the kabuki stage: an introduction to kabuki with retellings of famous plays, illustrated by woodblock prints. — Amsterdam: Hotei Publishing, 2004; p. 38.
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Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi [歌川 國芳] (1798 – 1861). A beauty leaning on a fence and watching a dragonfly hovering above a flowering plant. Signed: Ichiyûsai Kuniyoshi ga (一勇斎 國芳 画) in a double gourd-shaped red cartouche. Publisher: Maruya Jinpachi, seal Jin [甚] (Marks 08-088 | 294d). No date/censor seal. Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e, 団扇絵), 234 x 301 mm. -
Artist: Utagawa Sadahide [歌川貞秀] (Japanese, 1807 – 1879). Publisher: Iseya Ichiemon [伊勢屋市右衛門] (Japanese, fl. c. 1820s – c. 1860s). Size: Uncut fan print (uchiwa-e), 220 x 285 mm. Date-kiwame seal: 1835 (Tenpō 6). Signed: Sadahide ga in a double-gourd cartouche. Man trying to catch a catfish with a gourd during a picnic on an autumn evening. Five Festivals [五節句の內] (Gosekku no uchi), Ninth Month [九月] (Kugatu), Full moon celebration on the 15th night of the month (Tsuki machi) [月まち] or [月待]. The autumnal spirit is also supported by the presence of Patrinia scabiosifolia (ominaeshi) [女郎花] and Miscanthus sinensis, or Japanese pampas grass (susuki) [薄]. These two are part of the Seven Grasses of Autumn (aki no nanakusa) [秋の七草]. Description by Richard Kruml: "Viewing the full moon in the eighth and ninth months was a popular activity passed down from the aristocracy in Heian times; especially where the moon's reflection could be seen in the water. One such party is seen here where a member vainly attempts to catch a catfish with a gourd: A hopeless task with such an unsuitable utensil. This is based on a Zen riddle posed by the shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimochi [足利 義持] (Japanese, 1386 – 1428) on how to catch a catfish with a gourd, which inspired the 15th-century artist Josetsu [如拙] (Japanese, fl. 1405 – 1496) to paint the subject with accompanying poems on the conundrum by Zen monks". -
Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a yellow toshidama cartouche. Publisher: Unknown, seal [久] Kyū (Japanese, fl. c. 1851 – 1861); (Marks 07-023 | U176a, possibly Sagamia Kyūzō). Block carver: Koizumi Minokichi [小泉巳の吉] (Japanese, 1833 – 1906); seal: Hori Mino [彫已の] (Gordon Friese № 38). Date seal and double nanushi censor seals: Fuku & Muramatsu, Kaei 6, 2nd month (2/1853). Inscription in a red cartouche: (Purple of Edo // Purple of the Bay Capital) [江都むらさき] (Edo Murasaki), alluding to Murasaki Shikibu [紫 式部] (Japanese, c. 973/8 – c. 1014/31), the author of Genji Monogatari [源氏物語] (The Tale of Genji), a Heian period novel which was the source of a parody Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji [偐紫田舎源氏] (Fake Murasaki’s Rustic Genji) by Ryutei Tanehiko [柳亭種彦] (Japanese, 1783 – 1842). According to Horst Graebner: The actor is most probably Segawa Kikunojō V. Segawa Kikunojō V [瀬川菊之丞] (Japanese, 1802 – 1832); other names: Segawa Tamon I. One of the series of Kunisada's fan prints in this collection: -
Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞]; a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a red toshidama cartouche. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. 1815 – 1869). Block carver: Yokokawa Takejirō [横川竹二郎] (Japanese, fl. 1845 – 1863), seal: 彫竹 – Hori Take. Date seal and aratame censor seal: May of the Year of Dragon [辰五] (Tatsu-go) (5/1856) (Not in Marks).
Uncut fan print (uchiwa-e) depicting Onoe Kikugorō IV as Karukaya Dōshin parting from his son, Ishidomaru (played by Ichimura Uzaemon XIII), and Kawarasaki Gonjūrō I as Yamazakiya Yogoro in the kabuki play Karukaya Dōshin Tsukushi no Iezuto [苅萱桑門筑紫𨏍], written by Namiki Sōsuke [並木宗輔] (Japanese, 1695 – 1751) and performed at Ichimuraza [市村座] in 05/1856.
Media: Fan print [団扇絵] (Uchiwa-e); size: 235 x 305 mm.
Actors:
Onoe Kikugorō IV [四代目 尾上菊五郎] (Japanese, 1808 – 1860); other names: Onoe Baikō IV, Onoe Eizaburō III, Onoe Kikue, Nakamura Tatsuzō, Nakamura Kachō.
Onoe Kikugorō V [五代目尾上菊五郎] (Japanese, 1844 – 1903 other names: Onoe Baikō V, Ichimura Kakitsu IV, Ichimura Uzaemon XIII [十三代目市村羽左衛門], Ichimura Kurōemon.
Ichikawa Danjūrō IX [市川団十郎] (Japanese, 1838 – 1903); other names: Kawarasaki Sanshō, Kawarasaki Gonnosuke VII, Kawarasaki Gonjūrō I, Kawarasaki Chōjūrō III.
Plot: It was a popular belief at one time that jealous women had their hair transformed into writhing serpents and Kato Sayemon Shige-Uji, a daimyo of Tsukushi, a much-married man, suffered from the delusion that his wife was so affected. He fled to the mountains to escape her and led the life of a hermit under the name of Karukaya Doshin [苅萓道心]. One day, on Mount Kōya (高野山, Kōyasan) Karukaya meets a young man who was wandering in the mountains. Being questioned, the youth tells his name, Ishidomaru, and elicits the information that he is seeking his lost father. Karukaya then recognizes the boy as his own son, but firm in the resolve to remain lost to the world, he refrains from disclosing himself, and bids the youth return home.
Provenance: Paul F. Walter (American, 1935 – 2017).
Ref.:
- [LIB-2110.2019] Samuel L. Leiter. Historical Dictionary of Japanese Traditional Theatre (Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts). / 2nd edition. – Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014; pp. 379-380.
- [LIB-2206.2019] Basil Stewart. Subjects portrayed in Japanese colour-prints. — London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd., 1922.
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Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Kunisada ga [国貞画] in a red double-gourd cartouche Publisher: Unknown (no seal). Date: c. 1832 Izzard: "... red cloth decorated with the characters Yauan, one of Ichikawa Danjūrō VII [市川団十郎] (Japanese, 1791 – 1859) poetry names, and the name of his residence in Fukagawa. The absence of publisher's emblem and censorship seals may indicate that this was a privately issued print, not for public use". Ref.: [LIB-2967.2022] Utagawa Kunisada (1786 – 1865): His world revisited / Catalogue № 17, Exhibition March 17-21, 2021. — NY: Sebastian Izzard, LLC., 2021; p. 112-3, fig. 32). Size: Fan print (aiban uchiwa-e); 235 x 295 mm. -
Series: Pictures Associated with the Iroha Syllabary [伊呂波画合]. Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi [歌川 國芳] (1798 – 1861). Signed: Ichiyûsai Kuniyoshi giga [一勇斎 國芳戯画] (Playfully drawn by Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi) in a red double-gourd cartouche with a kiri-mon seal beneath. Publisher: Iseya Ichiemon [伊勢屋市右衛門] (Japanese, fl. 1823 – c. 1864); seal [辻] (Marks 16-029 | 143a). Single nanushi censor seal: Mura [村] = Murata Sahei [村田佐右衛] (VI/1842 – V/1846). Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e, 団扇絵), 231 x 296 mm. Theme: The Treasury of Loyal Retainers [仮名手本忠臣蔵] (Kanadehon Chūshingura) – an 11-act puppet play composed in 1748, based on a historical event. "Most historians now agree that there were forty-seven rōnin of Ako who attacked and killed Kira Yoshinaka (吉良 義央, 1641 – 1703) in Edo in the twelfth month of 1702, twenty-two months after their lord Asano Naganori (浅野 長矩, 1667 – 1701) had been put to death for his own failed attempt on Kira’s life". [Henry D. SMITH II. The Trouble with Terasaka: The Forty-Seventh Rōnin and the Chūshingura Imagination / Japan Review, 2004, 16:3-65]. The reader shall remember that the fictional, romantic version of the Akō incident [赤穂事件] (Akō jiken) may not (and most probably does not) reflect the historical truth of events. Uncut fan print depicting a beautiful young woman covering another woman's mouth with a blue striped cloth, possibly an obi. The picture on the wall represents the scene from the final act of The Treasury of Loyal Retainers (Kanadehon Chūshingura, Act 11) when 47 loyal retainers (rōnin) of the late lord En'ya Hangan came to the house of Kō no Moronao in order to avenge their dead master. The leader of 47 rōnin, Ōboshi Yuranosuke, divided his accomplices into several groups which attacked the Moronao mansion from different directions. To coordinate the attack and keep communication among the groups, the rōnin were signing the first syllables of their names in the hiragana syllabary. There are two major types of the ordering of the hiragana syllabary, the Gojūon one and the Iroha order (pangram poem), the latter being used here. The number of avengers exactly matches the 47 letters of that syllabary. The group entering Moronao's house from the front gate was 'chi-ri-nu-ru-wo-wa-ka'. Yoshida Sadaemon Kanesada [葦田貞右衛門兼貞] (1675 – 1703) depicted on this fan print belongs to this group. The character on the lantern hanging from Yoshida's spear reads Chū [忠] – for Chūshingura. Alternating black and white triangles on the picture frame allude to the 'signature' 47 ronin's uniform. This motif is usually described as a zigzag pattern [雁木模様] (gangi moyō), a mountain-shaped pattern [山形模様] (yamagata moyō), or a mountain road [山道] (yamamichi). The rōnin were allegedly wearing this uniform in imitation of firefighters. The government allowed the firefighters alone to gather in large groups and carry equipment akin to that of the military. Such equipment was necessary for firemen to tear down the burning buildings to stop the flames. The design can be seen in Kunimaru's fan print [SVJP-0233.2018] in this collection.Fighting Moronao's guards, the 47 rōnin entered the mansion and searched for their enemy but in vain. Finally, Yazama Jujiro Motooki [矢間重次郎元興] found the villain in the charcoal chamber and called his friends. This is the exact moment we see in the picture on the wall: Yoshida entering the charcoal chamber with a spear in his hand amid falling baskets and charcoal. Kō no Moronao was brought to justice and beheaded; his head was offered before the memorial tablet of En'ya Hangan to appease his spirit. After that, Ōboshi Yuranosuke and his 46 friends committed seppuku. They were buried at Sengakuji (泉岳寺) – a small temple near Shinagawa in Edo (Tokyo).
Utagawa Kunimaru. Chūshingura, Act 11.
Another fan print from the same series can be found at Kuniyoshi Project:
The same subject is portrayed by Kuniyoshi in the series Mirror of the True Loyalty of the Faithful Retainers [誠忠義臣鏡] (Seichû gishin kagami), publisher: Kagiya Hanjirô, c. 1851 (Kuniyoshi Project) – Yoshida Sadaemon Kanesada (葦田貞右衛門兼貞) raising his sword amid falling baskets and charcoal:
