Utagawa Kunisada/Toyokuni III (1786-1865) A Modern Suikoden (Kinsei suikoden): Bandô Kamezô I as Hinotama Kozô Oni Keisuke, 1862. Oban.
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I think this is one of the best prints from this series, which Kunisada produced late in his career, just two years before his death in 1864. As usual in ukiyo-e, the content is complicated. The series title refers to the water-margin… the Suikoden. The Suikoden was the title of a medieval story of bandits opposing injustice in China, who lived their lives on the margins between the salt marsh and the land, which later became wildly popular in Japan in the early nineteenth century. Kuniyoshi and others made their names illustrating the heroes and their exploits. This series and similar ones (implicit in the title A Modern Suikoden), were designed subtly to critique the failing hereditary government that was to be deposed after six hundred years, only five years after this print was made.
The series consists of thirty-six woodblock prints plus a title page. Kunisada brings the narrative into the modern era by showing well-known actors in the roles of outlaws and bandits of the time. In the years after 1860 Japan was in turmoil. The ruling Tokugawa government was detested by the majority of the Japanese population and had lost its authority. Bandits and outlaws were seen as symbols of defiance and were glorified by the common townspeople and by the subversive ukiyo-e print artists who served their needs. The Modern Suikoden series was provocative and symbolic of dissent, albeit dressed up as something relatively innocuous. A few years later in 1868, the last Tokugawa shogun Yoshinobu resigned and the new Meiji era began. Kunisada was primarily a theatre artist, hence the bandits are complicated somewhat, being portraits of well known kabuki stars in imaginary roles.
Kunisada portrays a violent man… his crimes and antics are unknown; the long text in the background will probably be forever untranslated. We see him wielding a huge domestic knife rather than the named or ‘heritage’ blade of a samurai. The spotted neckerchief identifies him as a street tough, the tattoos likewise say beware. (Tattoos were extremely popular among the rougher townspeople of the late Edo period. Later tattoos were regarded as a barbaric relic of the past and forbidden. This ban lasted until 1948 when tattooing was again legalised.) The tattoo - which covers the whole of his back and shoulders - is of blooms of red and white oni-azami, or demon thistle, (the name of the plant echoed in the bandit’s name). Through the figure's pivoted stance, Toyokuni III offers the viewer an unobstructed view of the field of irezumi flowers on Keisuke's back. Growing where other plants cannot and nestled within thorny bristles, this flower is associated with toughness and defiance. Interestingly, Bandô Kamezô played a major role in the Chushingura revenge drama in the same year - 1862 - that this print was made.
This is a terrific design, the pose of the figure, the terrifying, raised knife and the magnificent tattoo all make for a vibrant and very rare tattoo subject. Full size, an early, very sharp impression. Colour and condition are all fine. An outstanding print.
Publisher: Iseya Kanekichi.
25cm x 36cm.
