Ukiyo-e Comparisons of the Cloudy Chapters of Genji, Part II

 

 

 

 

Chapter number: 21

Chapter name: Otome (The Maiden)

Scene: O-Schichi reclining under the eaves of a temple in the attitude of a tennin (Buddhist angle)

Robinson: S45.21

   

 

Chapter number: 22

Chapter name: Tamakazura (Jewel Garland)

Scene: The diving girl Tamatori grasping the sacred jewel and brandishing a dirk while being attacked by an octopus.  In the background, there is a mirage of Hôrai, which is like Shangri-La and is the home of the Dragon King.

Robinson: S45.22

 

 

Chapter number: 23

Chapter name: Hatsune (First Warbler)

Scene: Actor Nakamura Utaemon IV as Hatsune Satô Tadanobu wiping off his sword behind his back

Robinson: S45.23

 

 

Chapter number: 24

Chapter name: Kochô (Butterflies)

Scene: Actor Ichimura Uzaemon XII as Abe Yasuna in court robes waving his fan at two fluttering butterflies in a scene from the kabuki play ‘Kwaikei Shinoda

Robinson: S45.24

 

 

Chapter number: 25

Chapter name: Hotaru (Fireflies)

Scene: Tamiya Iyemon with his servant Akiyama Chôbei and the ghost of his murdered wife O-Iwa

Robinson: S45.25

   

 

Chapter number: 26

Chapter name: Tokonatsu (Wild Carnations)

Scene: Actor Nakamura Utaemon IV as the heroic fishmonger Danshichi Kurobei immobilizing Ôtori Sagayemon in the kabuki play ‘Natsu matsuri

Robinson: S45.26

 

 

Chapter number: 27

Chapter name: Kagaribi (Flares)

Scene: Actor Bandô Shuka as the nun Seigen-ni in a boat in a scene from the kabuki play ‘Onoye Iwafuji

Robinson: S45.27

 

 

Chapter number: 28

Chapter name: Nowaki (Typhoon)

Scene: Poet Ariwara no Narihara eloping with the Lady Takako-hime at night on Musashi Moor

Robinson: S45.28

 

This is another state of the above print (note the sky, pants and sash).

 

 

Chapter number: 29

Chapter name: Miyuki (Royal Outing)

Scene: O-Yasu shaking petals from a sprig of blossom plum into a small bowl

Robinson: S45.29

    

 

Chapter number: 30

Chapter name: Fujibakama (Purple Trousers)

Scene: Actor Sawamura Sôjurô V as Lady Iwafuji by a garden fence accompanied by a servant in a scene from the kabuki play ‘Onoye Iwafuji

Robinson: S45.30

 

Another state of the above print

 

 

Chapter number: 31

Chapter name:  Maki-bashira (Cypress Pillar)

Scene: Kurô Hangwan Yoshitsune clinging to a pillar on the balcony of the Horikawa palace, watching Tosa-bô Shôshun and his men approach

Robinson: S45.31

 

 

Chapter number: 32

Chapter name: Umegae (Plum Branch)

Scene: Hayakawa Takakage in court robes holding a sprig of flowering plum blossoms with Yadahei crouching before him

Robinson: S45.32

 

Another state of the above print

 

 

Chapter number: 33

Chapter name: Fuji no uraba (Wisteria Leaves)

Scene: Idzutsu-ya Dembei at night outside a Yoshiwara brothel with a woman silhouetted in the window and people passing below in a scene from the kabuki play ‘Hanakawado’ with actor Onoe Kikugorô III as Dembei

Robinson: S45.33

   

 

Chapter number: 34

Chapter name: Wakana no (New Herbs, Part I)

Scene: Soga Jurô Sukenari standing behind a seated actor in full stage makeup as Kobayashi Asahina

Robinson: S45.34

   

 

Chapter number: 35

Chapter name: Wakana no ge (New Herbs, Part II)

Scene: Yaye, the wife of Sakura Maru, holding a truncheon under a blossoming cherry tree in a scene from the kabuki play ‘Sugawara’

Robinson: S45.35

   

 

Chapter number: 36

Chapter name: Kashiwagi (Oak Tree)

Scene: Sankatsu with broom and duster looking backward at the very young O-Tsû who is playing the samisen

Robinson: S45.36

 

 

Chapter number: 37

Chapter name: Yokobue (The Flute)

Scene: Actor Ichikawa Danjûrô VII as Tombei the ferryman glaring down at his pleading daughter O-Fune kneeling before him in a scene from the kabuki play ‘Yaguchi no watashi

Robinson: S45.37

    

 

Chapter number: 38

Chapter name: Suzumushi (Bell Cricket)

Scene: Actor Nakamura Utaemon IV as Fukuoka Mitsugi defending himself against three ruffians in the kabuki play ‘Ise ondo

Robinson: S45.38

    

 

Chapter number: 39

Chapter name: Yûgiri (Evening Mist)

Scene: Actor Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII as wrestler Kinugawa Tanizô dealing with two assailants

Robinson: S45.39

 

 

Chapter number: 40

Chapter name: Minori (The Rites)

Scene: Taira no Tomomori with anchor at the Battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185

Robinson: S45.40

‘Robinson’ refers to listing in Kuniyoshi: The Warrior-Prints by Basil William Robinson (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1982) and its unpublished supplement.

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