Early 2023 delivery
There were a few deliveries in the first half of 2023 so this post is a bit of a big one! It mixes modern Sharaku reprints, some nice series and triptychs plus whatever leaped out at me from the auction lists…
Sharaku was an enigmatic artist who seemed to only have produced a handful of prints with a unique, comical style that was never copied by later artists. Almost nothing is known about him and it has even been suggested that he used a pseudonym so that he could produce these radical prints and not suffer any repercussions from the artists!
Here are some random series and orphaned prints that took my fancy. I have been trying to fill in some gaps in the “actors with bridges” series and I just can’t resist any series with “actors and modern umbrellas”. Actors were very stylish socialites of their time and during the Meiji restoration nothing showed your modernity quite like adopting new western accoutrements.
Diptychs and orphaned pairs
Triptychs
I always seem to start these posts with prints from the play “Okige no kumo harau Asagochi” and this is not going to change that pattern, so here they are:
This is a relatively rare priont because it features an ink-splatter technique to simulate snow, which was applied to the finished print creating a unique pattern of white specks.
This one is just adorable and I love this composition featuring Genkurō (also known as Kitsune Yoshitsune, or Fox Yoshitsune) from the play “Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura” (Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees). You can just see his fluffy tail at the bottom of the image.
This next print is a bit faded but the composition is just stunning, with the eagle in the top left corner …
Butterflies are another compositional theme that I love to collect – they evoke an ephemeral or ghostly character and in this case the ghost of Iwafuji in the centre, from the play Kagamiyama:
Another popular theme is retellings of modern sensational scandals and murders, like this tale of Takahashi Oden from 1879, who was executed for murdering a money lender:
As was often the was in sensationalised stories of the 19th century, a fairly simple tale of poverty & desperation leading to murder, was embellished into a moral tale of the times.
War was also another profitable source of exciting stories for the theatre to retell, but unlike “Okige no kumo harau Asagochi”, this one was about a conflict with Korea. There was no effort made to hide the way that the play was being dressed up entirely for propaganda purposes, with the Koreans portrayed as cowardly vanquished foes, crushed by the righteous and moral Japanese. Even the titles sound more like the propaganda of a dictatorial regime – “Famous Japanese Swords: Glory to the World” (日本名刀世界の誉, Nihon Meitō Sekai no Homare).
The following 2 prints depict some sumo wrestlers arguing and I notice one of the wrestlers wears the same butterfly design on his kimono and there are butterflies flying around the flowers and they are both from 1873 so it’s likely they depict the same performance. I did a rough ChatGPT analysis and it suggested the play was “From Flowers of the Four Seasons with Thirty-six Selected Poems” (四季花三十六句撰内).
The popular play “Kanjinchō” (The Subscription List) has been a regular favourite with kabuki fans for centuries. The story is summarised here.
This next story is a classic tale of doomed love: the play “Hana Kurabe Azuma Nishiki-e” (花競東錦繪) where a young girls is desperate to see her lover again and rings the fire watch-tower drum, which was punishable by death.
From a quick search I think the following print depicts the climactic scene from the play “Hachiman Matsuri Yomiya no Nigiwai” (The Moonlight Night Bustle at the Hachiman Festival), also known as “Omatsuri Sashichi” (おまつり佐七).
Sashichi, a gallant street tough (otokodate), is in love with the beautiful geisha Koito but unbeknown to him she has been forced to publicly jilt him to save him from disgrace because her family is heavily in debt. In a rage he murders Koito during a noisy summer festival but later discovers a letter from her to him explaining her actions, leaving him in despair as the happy sounds of the festival continue in the distance.
The next piece is from the play “Konoma-boshi Hakone Shika-bue” (木間星箱根鹿笛, “Konma-boshi and the Deer-Flute of Hakone.”) at the Shintomi Theater, in 1880. See here. Another copy here.
木間星箱根鹿笛 (Konma-boshi Hakone Shika-bue) is a melodramatic kabuki revenge drama set in the mountain pass region of Hakone. The story centres on Konma-boshi, a young man whose family has been wronged through treachery and concealed crimes. Forced into hardship and separation, he grows to maturity carrying a hidden identity and a burning resolve for justice. The “deer flute” of the title — a rustic bamboo whistle used in the mountains — becomes a symbolic device tied to memory, fate, and the revelation of truth, often serving as a signal in key dramatic moments. As the plot unfolds amid travel scenes, mountain encounters, and emotional confrontations, loyalties are tested and disguises are stripped away. The drama culminates in a tense reckoning in which Konma-boshi confronts the villain responsible for his family’s ruin, restoring honour through retribution while the surviving characters face the tragic cost of vengeance.
The background of this print made me wonder if it had anything to do with the US flag but in the end I think it doesn’t. Another copy is here.
and more…
