Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900) Eight Views of Edo: Bando Hikosaburo V as Fukuoka Mitsugi, 1868. Oban.
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This bold Kunichika is from early in his long career. The subject and composition - as well as the drawing style - still show the great influence of the recently deceased master of the actor portrait, Kunisada. For those not familiar with the baffling subject matter of Japanese prints, the nominal title - Eight Views of Edo - is a remnant from mid-century censorship that forbade the illustration of theatre subjects, actors and certain historical scenes deemed decadent, emotional, or critical of the government by association. In order to get round these strict regulations, artists produced prints in series that purported to be of virtuous or anodyne subjects - figures in landscapes and such like - but with thinly disguised actor portraits in recognisable roles… just not clearly identified. The cat-and-mouse aspect of these prints and the delight in solving the riddles and making connections between the role and the landscape became a genre in itself… like visual crosswords, these prints are known as mitate.
By 1868, there was no real need to hide the subject of the print, but the landscape connection allowed prints to be produced in multiples and this appealed to the publisher’s marketing skills. The Eight Views of Omi are traditional scenic views of Ōmi Province which is now Shiga Prefecture in Japan. They were inspired by the Eight Views of Xiaoxiang in China which were first painted in the 11th century and then brought to Japan as a popular theme in the 14–15th centuries. The subject here is Evening Bell at Miidera. Miidera temple was built in the 8th century. Its bell is one of the "Three Bells of Japan", the other two being those at Uji and at Kyoto.
In this print we see the actor Bando Hikosaburo V as Fukuoka Mitsugi. Mitsugi is the hero of the kabuki drama, The Ise Dances and Love’s Dull Blade. The play was based on the true story of a tragic and savage massacre in 1796 in the town of Furuichi near the Ise Shrine. A drunken doctor went on a murderous rampage in the local brothel. Before it was over, a number of people lay dead or wounded, including the maid Oman. Two days later the doctor committed suicide at the home of his uncle who was a low-ranking priest at the shrine. The plot concerns the lost whereabouts of a valuable sword meant to possess magical, wicked powers… presumably how the playwrights explained the inexplicable massacre weeks earlier. The plot is immensely complex but culminates in the massacre… all the fault of the bewitched weapon, evidence of which can be seen all over this excellent but bloody print.
The print is very good indeed. The bloody hand prints are alarming and dramatic, but the real quality of the print lies in the subtle shading of the monochrome background which makes a shadow play of the massacre - the cavorting figures - and the temple bell itself, hanging beneath the sloping roof in silhouette. The round cartouche with the title hangs like a premonitory moon over the whole bloodthirsty scene.
A tremendous, dramatic design. Colour and impression are fine. The print is full size and unbacked. Condition is very good, there is some thinning to the paper on the right arm, visible from the rear. There is a copy of the print in the Museum of Fine Art Boston.
Publisher: Shimizuya Naojirô.
36 x 25 cm.
