Utagawa Toyokuni I (1769-1825) Matsumoto Kôshirô V as Oshima Danshichi, 1811. Oban.
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A superb print with outstanding detail by Toyokuni I, the founder of the Utagawa School and the father of nineteenth century ukiyo-e. Really, without the business sense and the drive of Toyokuni, it is hard to imagine how the art of woodblock printing could have flourished to the extent that it did. Through skilful use of connections with publishers, Toyokuni I enlarged the role of woodblock prints, especially for the kabuki market. His pupils, Kuniyoshi and Kunisada were to dominate the entire discipline within a decade. Prints from the eighteenth and the first decade of the nineteenth centuries by Toyokuni I are very sought after. The quality of his work is thought by some to have deteriorated as he became more commercial and more successful. Prints like this one, from this early period, suffer greatly from unstable pigments and fragile paper, not to say the fact that a print like this is now two hundred and twenty years old.
The character here of Oshima Danshichi is not to be confused with another popular violent murderer, Danshichi Kurobei… although in the mythological mind they may well be the same! Oshima Danshichi appears in this lesser known play, Nazo no Obi Chotto Tokubê, as a town bandit and gang member. He is a deceitful and wicked character who steals a valuable incense burner, among other crimes, including murder and prostitution. He is eventually tricked by his former associates and is killed on the banks of the Susaki.
The print is one of two, possibly three that commemorate the premiere of the play at the Ichimura theatre in Edo in 1811. The play was in fact based on the true murder of a woman in the rice fields near Osaka. Early prints by Toyokuni are rare in this condition. The impression and preservation are fine. Japanese album backing. This is a great example of a Toyokuni theatre portrait.
Publisher: Nishimuraya Yohachi.
35.5 x 25.5 cm.
