Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety of Our Country
(Honchô
nijûshi-kô)
Publisher: Mura-Tetsu
1842-1843
The
book entitled ‘The Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety’ was written by the Guo
Jujing during the Yuan Dynasty. It
recounts the self-sacrificing behavior of twenty-four Chinese children who
improved their parents’ lives or peacefully honored their deceased
parents. This series of prints portrays
a more warlike lot of children from Japanese history and legend–several free
their parents from captivity or avenge their parents’ deaths. The prints in this series are each about 10
by 7 inches (25 by 18 centimeters), a size known as chûban.
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Scene:
Anju-hime carrying two buckets on a pole over her shoulder accompanied by her
brother, Tsushiô Maru who is carrying a rake and a basket of reeds Robinson:
S23.1 |
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Scene:
Chiyonô-hime in a wind holding a torch and a dirk about to rescue her father
from imprisonment after the rebellion of Aidzu no Tarô Nobuchika against
Yoritomo Robinson:
S23.2 |
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Scene:
Chûjô-hime walking by a lotus pond on a windy day Robinson:
S23.3 |
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Scene: The
young Soga brothers practice swordsmanship on a heap of snow in order to
avenge their father Robinson:
S23.4 |
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Scene:
Hino Kumawaka Maru training to avenge his father by swinging across a stream
on a bamboo Robinson:
S23.5 |
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Scene: The
dutiful girl of Hitotsuya saved from the hag of the lonely house by an
apparition of the goddess Kannon Robinson:
S23.6 |
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Scene:
Hitsu-no-Saishô Haruhira recognizes his Father who was forced to act as a
lighthouse with a candle on his head Robinson:
S23.7 |
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Scene:
Homma Gennai-hyôye Suketada writing his farewell poem on a torii at Shitennôji with his own blood
after the death of his father Sukesada Robinson:
S23.8 Image courtesy of John Rose
and Auction Ukiyo-e Ltd. |
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Scene:
Ima-jo a poor girl of Take-no-uchi village in province of Yamato catching a
carp to feed her parents Robinson:
S23.9 |
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Scene:
Kamada Matahachi of Matsuzaka fighting off wolves with a huge iron bar in the
Ashigara Mountains of Idzu Robinson:
S23.10 |
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Scene:
Keyamura Rokusuke spending seven days under the Hikosan Gongen Waterfall Robinson:
S23.11 |
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Scene:
Takenori Kinsuke seated with his bow behind him and the hat of a palace guard
before him Robinson:
S23.12 |
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Scene:
Kôju Maru seated grasping a dirk and about to perform seppuku with travelers on a mountain behind him Robinson:
S23.13 NOTE: The
term ‘hara-kiri’, although more common
in English than ‘seppuku’, is
considered in |
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Scene:
Komatsu Sammi Shigemori-kyô in as a youth Robinson:
S23.14 |
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Scene:
Kusunoki Masatsura in court robes over armor beside an armillary sphere on a
starry night Robinson:
S23.15 |
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Scene:
Karumo, the dutiful girl of Matsuyama, looking in astonishment in a mirror on
the floor in which she mistakes her own reflection for that of her dead
mother Robinson:
S23.16 |
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Scene: The
dutiful youth from Mino Province carrying wood to warm his aged father Robinson:
S23.17 |
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Scene: The
dutiful girl Nobu with her sickle on the ground carrying a basket of rushes
for her aged mother Robinson:
S23.18 |
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Scene:
Yoshioka Ichimisai’s daughter Sono dressed as a nun and carrying a shakuhachi (traditional Japanese
bamboo flute) with three puppies at her feet Robinson:
S23.19 |
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Scene:
Suketoki from Yamato visiting with his dead parents who returned to him in
the form of butterflies Robinson:
S23.20 |
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Scene: The
poetess, Suô no Naishi, walking on a windy night Robinson:
S23.21 |
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Scene:
Teruta-hime carrying a water bucket through the snow Robinson:
S23.22 |
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Another state of the above
print |
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Scene:
Uneme of Atsuta exorcising a monstrous serpent from a lake Robinson:
S23.23 |
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Scene: The
dutiful youth Yoji leading his monkey Robinson:
S23.24 |
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Scene:
Yuya holding a poem-card by a blossoming cherry tree Robinson:
S23.25 Image courtesy of John Rose
and Auction Ukiyo-e Ltd |
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Scene:
Zennojô of Shinano with two demons and one of the judges of hell seeing a
vision in a large mirror Robinson:
S23.26 |
‘Robinson’ refers to listing in Kuniyoshi: The Warrior-Prints by Basil William Robinson (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1982) and its privately published supplement.
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