Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900) Flowers of Edo (Azuma no Hana): Onoe Kikugoro V as a Fireman, 1871. Oban.
Click here for a full-size image.
This stunning design is by the Meiji artist Toyohara Kunichika. It represents two things: an Edo fireman holding a matoi, or fire standard and the popular kabuki actor, Onoe Kikugoro V, also known as Baiko.
A great chunk of popular Edo culture is crammed into this single sheet (remember, this is one of a series)… which glamorises the role of the fireman as a tough otokodate or gang member. The Edo fire service was a species of mafia-like organisations that operated as saviours of the people as well as intimidating gangsters. But this print is also a portrait of a kabuki actor - itself a populist romanticisation of street culture - and it is an exceptional example of the now worldwide cult of the tattoo at its very inception. At this time in Japan, otokodate and Edo firemen were identifying their outsider status with popular heroes and warriors of myth and the kabuki stage… crucially imagined by the great ukiyo-e artists of the age. Here then we see the somewhat bathetic image of the young, tough outsider, in a full body tattoo, wielding the fire standard of his gang, acted by a soap opera hero in the manner of a samurai.
We underestimate the chonin, the townsfolk of Tokyo in the mid nineteenth century. The cities of Japan boomed with trade, the population exploded, the new middle class were stuck in a feudal and brutal past. They were relatively well off but had nothing to spend their money on, being forbidden travel or luxuries by law. They expressed their dissatisfaction with the overcrowded cities through the hero worship of these outsider figures… like Chicago in the 1930’s.
The standard that the actor is holding is known as a Matoi. These solid geometrical forms were unique to each unit and represent quite extraordinary sculptural beauty. Other units would also attend a fire, each with their own Matoi until the fire was dampened and its spread halted. Kikugoro is heavily tattooed with the image of a powerful magician: the dragon-summoner Unryu-kuro. We see him here, his hands forming the incantation, fire and smoke rising behind him, the quelled dragon at his feet. On the right arm he carries an image in red and black of the child warrior Kintoki. These two images signify (and perhaps imbue the character with) supernatural strength and power. Of course, had Kikugoro played such a character he would have used subtle printed or painted silk sleeves to show the tattoo image.
A very fine tattoo subject. The print is very crisp, the impression very good with fine detail. The colour is brilliant and bold and the condition is very good. Some trimming and scuffing to the edges. Unbacked.
35 x 23.5 cm.
