Konishi Hirosada (ca 1810 - 1864) Chuko Junishi no Uchi (Loyalty
and Fidelty for the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac): Monkey - Kataoka Ichizo I as the thief Kameshiro, 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.
Deciphering these prints at such a
distance is quite a task. 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 that of the kabuki actor Kataoka Ichizo I as the thief Kameshiro from the play Shinshu oroku kushi. Little remains for us to find out about this character and the plot of the play seems to be lost like so many Osaka productions.
The Zodiac sign is, ‘Monkey’, seen in the calligraphy in the top right, black cartouche. The cartouche to the upper left shows a hillside at night, the main part - that of the actor - is a classic villainous part; the actor stares straight out of the picture, sword raised… dressed in black, the archetypal ukiyo-e villain.
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 wormage to the upper left margin and a minor worm hole in the upper right cartouche. Otherwise, condition, colour and impression are all fine. Extensive cheesecloth embossing to the background; burnishing and shomen-zuri to the robes. Publisher'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.
