print
- Museum number
- 1909,0618,0.79
- Title
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Object: Shodan 初段 (Act One)
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Series: Chushingura 忠臣蔵 (Treasury of the Loyal Retainers)
- Description
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Colour woodblock print. First composition of twelve designs. Villain Ko no Moronao in bottom right-hand corner, infatuated with Enya Hangan's wife Kaoyo and trying to force love-letter on her; Kaoyo herself above, starting back in dismay; young lord Momoi Wakasanosuke at bottom left, coming to her aid. Inscribed, signed, sealed and marked.
- Production date
- 1798-1799 (ca.)
- Dimensions
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Height: 34 centimetres
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Width: 25.30 centimetres
- $Inscriptions
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- Curator's comments
- Asano and Clark 1995
A series of half-length portraits showing scenes from the joruri Kanadehon Chushingura (Models for Calligraphy: The Treasury of Loyal Retainers). Each composition consists of two or three figures, although act ten includes a child as well, making four. A total of twelve designs are known from "Act One" to "Act Eleven" (there are two designs for act eleven). On different designs two different combinations of publishers' seals are found. The first is a combination of the character tomoe under a mountain peak with a square seal reading "Cho han" (published by Cho). The second is a combination of the same tomoe under a mountain peak with a square seal reading "Ei han" (published by Ei). Judging by the similarity of the forms of these seals, both can be linked to the major publishing house of Nishimuraya Yohachi in Bakuro-cho. They may be relatives or a related firm, but this remains unclear.
The composition for "Act One" brings together the following characters: the villain Ko no Moronao in the bottom right-hand corner, who is infatuated with Enya Hangan's wife Kaoyo and tries to force a love-letter on her; Kaoyo herself above, who starts back in dismay; and the young lord Momoi Wakasanosuke at the bottom left, who comes to her aid.
Literature:
"Kitagawa Utamaro sakuhin mokuroku" 「喜多川歌麿作品目録」, 'Ukiyo-e shuka', 「浮世絵聚花」, vol. 3 (Bosuton Bijutsukan III ボストン美術館３), Shogakkan, Tokyo, 1978, pp. 235-254, pl. 366-1.
Other impressions:
The Japan ‘Ukiyoe’ Museum 日本浮世絵博物館, Matsumoto.
Tokyo National Museum 東京国立博物館.
[Main text translated in Japanese below / 以下上記本文日本語訳]
浅野／クラーク 1995
浄瑠璃「仮名手本忠臣蔵」に取材した半身図のシリーズ。1図を2人あるいは3人で構成し、（十段目のみ子供を入れて4人）「初段」から「十一段目」までの12枚揃（十一段目が2種類ある）。版元印は、作品によって山形に巴と方印「長板」、そして山形に巴と方印「栄板」の2種が用いられている。版元印の類似などから、そのどちらも馬喰町の大版元西村屋与八の一族が関連する店と思われるが未詳。
この「初段」は、塩冶判官の妻顔世に横恋慕し、付け文をする高師直を右下に、迷惑がる顔世を上部に、顔世を救う桃井若狭之助を左下に組み合わせている。
- Location
- Not on display
- Associated titles
Associated Title: Chushingura
- Acquisition date
- 1909
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1909,0618,0.79
