Konishi Hirosada (ca 1810 - 1864) Mimasu Daigoro IV as Namiki Shoza and Nakamura Utaemon IV as Danshichi Mohei in Shigure no Karakasa, 1851. Deluxe Chuban Diptych.
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The story of Danshichi is one of the most reproduced in kabuki
theatre prints. Perhaps there was something in Danshichi’s hapless,
well-meaning, flawed personality that struck a chord with the rebellious
and restless townsmen of Edo and Osaka. There are several versions of
the play and several plays with the character Danshichi
as the lead. In all productions, Danshichi is a dishonoured man,
earning his living as a fishmonger because he lost a valuable sword
belonging to his master, a samurai. He intends to retrieve it and its
accompanying certificate of authenticity, but this is complicated by his
rival Kazuemon who wants not only the sword but also Danshichi’s lover,
the courtesan Tomi (Otomi). In this version of the play, the authors
have inserted the actual playwright Namiki Shozo I
(1730 - 1773) as a central character. Keyes describes the action in the
closing scenes, where Danshichi has recovered the sword but fails to
see the role that his lover has played in it:
At the moment that Danshichi is about
to strike Tomi, a crowd appears led by Namiki Shozo, the author of the
play. Shozo remonstrates with [Danshichi], begging him to be patient and
control his temper. As the author, he is aware that Tomi’s estrangement
is only feigned, that the heirloom sword will be recovered through her
self-sacrificing efforts... He knows, in other words, that the story
has a happy ending. He cannot say this however; nor can he control the
actions of his character who now displays a life and will of his own. (Keyes, Hirosada: Osaka Printmaker, UAM/CSULB 1984 p. 117.)
Danshichi, who in the original play has
tattooed himself to control his temper, runs amok, killing many people
before taking his own life. The original play is about the virtues of
self control - of maintaining one’s temper. This later version seems to
be a compelling interrogation of theatre as theatre in the modern sense.
The print shows Danshichi at left and the author seated with his ink
stone and brush on a small table.
This is the deluxe version of a print that we have sold in the past. In this edition, the figure of Nakima Shoza on the right is a masterpiece of rich colouration and deep, deep embossing, as is the bronzed screen that so richly decorates the upper right of the left sheet, serving to emphasise the drabness of the hapless Danshichi. What I especially like on second looking is the very obvious stage paraphernalia. The brown diagonal at the bottom right is the stage apron, dividing us, the viewer (the audience) from the auditorium. Beyond that we see into the ‘underside’ of the stage itself. We are there however in the artist’s characterisation. The subtle liminal boundary between performer and role… as in all kabuki theatre prints, is nominal. We are ‘there’ and we are ‘not there’.
Colour, impression and condition are all very fine, unbacked. Trimmimg to the top edge.
A copy of this print is in the collection of the MFA in Boston.
37 x 25 cm.
