Comic and Miscellaneous Triptychs and Diptychs, Part I
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Title: The
Famous and Unrivalled Hidari Jingorô
(Meiyo migi ni teki nashi
Hidari Jingorô) Description:
The left-handed sculptor surrounded by his many creations Date:
1847-1848 Publisher:
Ebisu-ya Shôshichi |
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Title: Asahina’s Travel to the Description:
Ashima is reclining and watching a daimyo’s parade
passing by Date:
1846-1848 Publisher:
Horimasa |
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Title: The
Votive Tablet with Masks of Kabuki Actors Taken at Face Value (Ataru hônô negai o gakumen) Description:
Thirty masks with disguised portraits of the following actors represented in
a framed votive painting being offered at a Shinto shrine: 2. Matsumoto Kôshirô
VI 7. Bandô Hikosaburô
IV Date:
1848-1849 Publisher:
Ebisu-ya Shôshichi |
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Title:
Fish Showing Performances in the Dragon’s Palace (Ryûgû asobi sakana gei zukushi) Description:
Urashima Tarô and Princess Otohime, seated on a big cushion in the centre of the
triptych, are drinking sake while watching the performances of various fish
and sea dwellers from the dragon king palace. A whale appearing on the lower
half of the triptych sends up gigantic spouts of water from his blowhole situated
at the top of its head. Following
animals are performing their special talents (from right to left): Date:
1847-1848 Publisher:
Kazusa-ya Iwakichi |
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Title:
Strange and Wondrous Immortal Turtles (Kiki myômyô) Description:
Turtles heading for a sake cup in between to rocks. The red sake cup bears the character kotobuki.
The image title Kiki myômyô (亀喜妙々) is a pun that could be read as
"strange, strange" or as “dangerous, dangerous”. Kuniyoshi ironically refers to the ban on
actor portraits since the turtle’s Sino-Japanese reading KI
is identical with that of the character for "dangerous" (abunai).
Not only the distinctive facial features, but also the patterns and
characters concealed on the tortoise shell reveal the identities of the
following actors: Date: 4th
month of 1848 Publisher:
Nomura Tokubei |
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Title:
Parody of Buddha’s 16 Disciples (Mitate
jûroku rakan) Description:
The title of the triptych Mitate
jūroku rakan (Parody of the 16 disciples
of Buddha) is a pun on words alluding to the beautiful men who are staying in
the brothels forever. The triptych illustrates 29 densely packed figures consisting
of Buddha’s disciples (arhat, rakan),
apprentices (dôji) and various foreign
looking animals personifying famous actors. The most celebrated actors are
depicted with a nimbus indicating their status as Buddha’s disciples. Usually
there are 16 disciples but in this depiction only 15 appear. The famous kabuki
star Ichikawa Kuzô II is missing his nimbus which
was probably unintended. The majority of the portrayed actors are displayed
as Asians with curly, brown hair and a beard. Hairstyle, garment and figure
of the impersonators of female roles (onnagata)
are illustrated in distinctively western style. Kuniyoshi who was keen on all
things foreign depicted Buddha’s disciples as the following actors: Date:
1849-1852 Publisher:
Sumiyoshi-ya Masagorô |
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Title: Precious
pictures of fashionable Ôtsu-e and ukiyo-e come together (Toki ni au
Ôtsu-e kitai no maremono) Description:
The artist Ukiyo Matabei surrounded by Ôtsu-e characters that have come
to life to protect him. Ukiyo Matabei’s face is hidden by a sheet of paper from which
the Ôtsu-e have escaped but the paulownia
crest (yoshikiri) on the fan in the artist’s
hand and the presence of a cat reveals that Matabei
is the feline lover Kuniyoshi himself. The Ôtsu-e figures
dancing around the artist are disguised portraits of the following actors:
1. 6. Iwai Kumesaburô III: Ushiwakamaru -
name of Minamoto Yoshitsune Date:
1847-1849 Publisher:
Hama-ya Kohei |
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Title: Description:
Date: 7th
month of 1843 Publisher:
Gusoku-ya Kahei |
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Title: The
Yoshiwara Sparrows Temporary Nest (Sato
suzume negura no kariyado) Description:
A crowd of personified male and female sparrows looking through the latticework
is depicted on the street in the foreground. Sparrows as courtesans adorned
in extravagant robes are sitting in a room projected toward the street
surrounded by latticework while awaiting their prospective customers. A few
sparrows in the foreground are carrying baskets and little tables. Date: 5th
month of 1846 Publisher:
Kita-ya Magobei |
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Title: The
Foxes’ Wedding (Kitsune no yomeiri no zu) Description:
The red torii of the Inari Shrine on the far right is the starting point of a
foxes’ wedding procession passing through a cedars’ alley. The foxes depicted
in the centre have fully transformed into human beings while the heads of the
figures in the left and right panels still resemble foxes. The animals in
front of and behind the procession are entirely foxes. The term kitsune no yomeiri (fox’s wedding) refers to
the occurrence of rain occurring during brilliant sunshine, which is said to
occur a fox bride is going through the woods to the house of her fox groom Date:
1839-1842 Publisher: Eshima |
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Title: Nozarashi Gosuke disguised as
the priest Ikkyû giving sermon at foot of Ikoma-dake in Description:
Date:
1843-1846 Publisher:
Jôshû-ya Kinzô |
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I am grateful to Ward Pieters
for locating this alternate state of the above print. |
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Title: A Great
Doctor Treating Serious Diseases (Kitai na meii nanbyô
ryôji) Description:
The female doctor Kogarashi, daughter of the quack
doctor Chikusai (Yabukusushi
Chikusai musume meii Kogarashi), sits in the
center in front of a floral screen; her four disciples, in black jackets,
apply humorous “treatments” to patients.
Thought to be a political satire. Date: 6th
month of 1850 Publisher: Enshû-ya Hokobei I am grateful to Ward Pieters for information about this print. |
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Title: The
Ink Battle (Bokusen no zu) Description:
During the Nara period pouring ink was a favorite pastime at the Imperial
court as a narrative scroll from the Tosa school
illustrates. Therefore Kuniyoshi’s print superficially appears to be a copy
of the Tosa scroll. However, the person next to the
general wearing a kimono with the
wave pattern could be the senior councilor Mizuno Tadakuni,
while the woman in front of him would be the Shogun’s mistress. A majority of
the depicted figures wear a headgear common among courtiers. The hidden message
behind this print is that the samurai have become as weak as the court
officials, wasting their time with ink battles, which has allowed even women
and monks to seize power. Date: 8th
month of 1843 Publisher: |
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Title:
Scene of Ink Battle (Tosa emaki mono no utsushi) Description: Date: 10th
month of 1860 Publisher: Echigo-ya Kajû |
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Title: The
Hida Carpenters Erecting Pillars (Hida no takumi hashiradate no zu) Description:
Date: 1842 Publisher: Iga-ya Kanemon |
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Title: Flowers
of Gold in Full Bloom (Zensei kogane no hana) Description:
A man takes gold coins (koban) from
a wooden tray table (sanbô)
throwing the money at the fighting crowd.
The scene shown in this print relates to the dream of every customer
of the pleasure quarters. Once in a lifetime one wants to own the most
expensive, exclusive courtesan (oiran) of all Yoshiwara establishments. If one could
afford this huge amount of money, the event was celebrated in public, and the
lucky customer would shower the crowd with gold coins. Date: 12th
month of 1858 Publisher:
Yamaguchi-ya Tôbei |
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Title:
Suikoden, Urashima Tarô Poem:
Suikoden From the abode of devils 108 creatures come forward Urashima Tarô opens the treasure
box Description:
Good spirits (zendama)
and evil spirits (akudama)
are emerging from Urashima’s treasure box (tamatebako) Date:
1844-1846 Publisher:
Kita-ya Magobei |
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Title:
Exhibition of a Chrysanthemum with 100 different flowers (Hyakushu tsugi wake giku) Description:
A large group of people is admiring the
colorful blossoms of a huge chrysanthemum tree grafted with many different
varieties Date: 1845 Publisher: |
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Title:
Getting Rid of Sleepiness (Nemuke zamashi) Description:
In the centre of the scene is a group of fighting blind men. Two barking
dogs, a rice seller and two women are watching the fight. The image title Nemuke zamashi (Getting rid of sleepiness) is
an illusion to a battle of the blind. With their eyes closed, the blind seem
to be sleeping. In this fighting scene the blind are randomly hitting and
beating in various directions. Kuniyoshi seems to be caricaturizing the
disconcertment of Date:
1846-1848 Publisher: Sagin |
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Title: Hyakushô kitsune ni
bakasareru zu Description:
A group of eight men are dancing and singing in a rice field at harvest time.
The inscription tells the story of a sick man
who was driven mad by a fox (kitsune). The eight farm workers taking the form of kitsune are
depicted on a rice field close to a village. The barely clothed workers are
singing and dancing while shape-shifting into foxes. One of the men is
embracing a statue of Jizô Bosatsu,
the guardian of souls in hell. The two beauties (bijin) depicted on top of a bale of straw are about to transform
into foxes. The foxes in the background are taking the shape of women. A
group of people far away is looking with lanterns for the men who have not
returned home from their work in the fields. Date: 1846 Publisher: Kyôji ? |
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Title: The
Rônin warrior of Sakamoto in Ômi Bewitched by the
White Fox (Kôshû Sakamoto irie
no rôshi byakko ni taburakasaruru zu) Description:
Date: 1849 Publisher: Idzutsu-ya Shôkichi |
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Title: Gôdô shini’e Description:
Date: 1855 Publisher:
NOTE: This
print is unsigned |
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Title: The
Seven Gods of Good Fortune (Shichifukujin) Description:
Date: 11th
month of 1859 Publisher:
Maru-ya Tokuemon |
