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:
1. Nakamura Utaemon IV 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 Iwazô |
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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:
1. Ôtani
Hiroemon (tani) 10. Matsumoto Kôshirô IV (matsu ,moto)
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:
1. Date:
1849-1852 Publisher:
Sumiyoshi-ya Masagorô |
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Title:
Ôtsu Pictures for the Times: A Rare Thing You’ve Been Waiting For (Toki ni au Ôtsu-e kitai no maremono, 梳行逢都繪代稀物) 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 Date: 1848 Publisher:
Minato-ya Kohei |
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Title:
Battle of the Shogi Pieces:
Prosperity and Peace across the Board (Koma
kurabe banjô taiheiki, 駒くらべ盤上太平棋) Description:
Pieces from Shogi (a game like
chess) are fighting Date: 7th
month of 1843 Publisher:
Gusoku-ya Kahei |
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Title: The
Yoshiwara Sparrows Temporary Nest (Sato
suzume negura no kariyado, 里すずめ寝ぐら仮有) 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 Hikobei 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 Date: 8th
month of 1843 Publisher:
San (phonetic pronunciation of 三) |
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Title:
Copy of a Scroll Painting of the Description:
Many figures scurrying about, some fencing with pens, and others mixing ink
to go into an inkwell Date: 10th
month of 1860 Publisher: Echigo-ya Kajû |
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Title: A
Picture of the Carpenters of Hida Erecting Pillars (Hida no takumi hashiradate no zu) Description:
The construction of a kabuki
theater with actors in the lower half Date: 1842 Publisher: Iga-ya Kanemon |
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Another state of the above
triptych with the names of the actors removed. Probably the names were deleted because
they would have dated the print. |
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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: Izuzen |
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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 Edo society. 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: Izutsu-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 |
