Konishi Hirosada (ca 1810 - 1864) Chuko Junishi no Uchi (Loyalty and Fidelty for the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac): Rat - Ichikawa Ebizo as Nikki Danjo, c.1848. Deluxe Chuban.
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This fine print by the Osaka artist, Konishi Hirosada (ca 1810 - 1864), is a mitate… a kind of puzzle picture. The puzzle here though is more serious than mere entertainment. In the 1840’s in Japan but especially in Osaka, a crumbling and centuries old government was attempting to stay afloat by imposing strict anti-decadence laws… sometimes referred to as the Tenpo Reforms. These prohibited the depiction of actors or theatre subjects, a genre that had been hitherto, wildly popular among kabuki fans. Artists and publishers attempted work-arounds by producing recognisable prints of unnamed actors, often in imaginary roles or else in roles not taken in real life. These prints were then issued under the guise of approved subjects… moral tales, views of famous landmarks or as in this case, the signs of the zodiac.
Dismantling these prints is quite a task at such distance. Osaka prints are less well known, were produced (albeit to extraordinary quality) in small numbers and short print runs and the school tends to be under represented in the literature. The portrait is unmistakably that of the kabuki actor Ichikawa Ebizo, playing Nikki Danjo, the arch villain of many historical dramas. The Zodiac sign is, ‘Rat’, seen in the top right, black cartouche. The cartouche to the left is more of a mystery. I have seen this series referred to as a Tokaido Road series, (that is, a series of prints that record the long highway from Edo to Osaka) but these odd, landscape scenes are I suspect a reference to the drama in which the actor is said to appear.
The series title translates as, Loyalty and Fidelity for the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac, hence the roles portrayed here illustrate some aspect of that sentiment. The portrait is of the appropriate actor in role, the upper right frame is the zodiac sign and the left represents a scene from the play from which the character is drawn. The game, if you like… then as now, is to connect all the elements to form the entire, allusive picture.
Here then is Nikki Danjo in the play Meiboku Sendai Hagi, which involves the tale of a palace intrigue and real events involving the Date clan of Sendai during the 1660’s; although again, because of censorship over historic subject matter in the theatre, names dates and details have been changed.
The child Tsuruchiyo has become head of the clan. He is kept in the women’s quarters and looked after by a nurse maid (Masaoka) for fear of assassination. The palace chatelaine and her brother Nikki Danjo plot to kill the young prince. In a moving scene Masaoka’s young son is killed in error but such is her devotion that she shows no emotion and continues the fiction that it is in fact Tsuruchiyo who lies dead. As a result she is handed a scroll with the names of the conspirators. Her true loyalty is finally discovered and a fight ensues which sees a gigantic rat appear on stage and run off with the scroll in its teeth.
The final scene is a classic of kabuki drama. A servant spots the rat and attacks it; it escapes but dramatically re-emerges through a trapdoor in the hanamichi (the stage extension into the theatre audience) in the true form of Nikki Danjo and carrying the scroll in his mouth. He exits the stage as if walking magically on clouds.
All of the prints in this series were found in a very battered concertina album of the period. In order to rescue the prints, remove them from the decaying acidic backing card and repair the wormholes, the complete album has had to be disassembled. The prints have been conserved and are in outstanding condition, aside from some repaired worm damage, principally to the plain margins. The complete deluxe set in this condition, even with the marginal damage is very rare. Each print is exquisitely produced with deluxe embossing, double printing, mica and metallics… it is a masterpiece of the woodblock art. Aside from the worm damage the prints are all in very fine condition. The impressions and print quality are perfect, the condition is fine with no fading and and no discolouration. Since it was necessary to separate the prints from their backing etc we feel that the set may reasonably be sold individually or as a complete series.
This print has worm damage to the left-hand margin, minor worm hole on the right and bottom margin. Otherwise colour, impression and condition all fine, with embossing to the cartouche, collar and sleeves; sprinkled mica over background. Printer's mark in left-hand margin.
An interesting feature of the set is the fact that they were published by Matsuki Heikichi, a publisher and printer of woodblock prints during the Meiji era, located in Yoshikawa-cho, a considerable distance from Osaka. He was the fourth generation in the family, known later for promoting the work of Kobayashi Kiyochika.
A copy of this series and this print can be found in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
18 x 24.5 cm.
RESERVED
