Konishi Hirosada (ca 1810 - 1864) Chuko Junishi no Uchi (Loyalty
and Fidelty for the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac): Boar - Nakamura Utaemon IV as Ono Sadakurô, 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 Nakamura Utaemon IV as Ono Sadakuro from Act V of the play Kanadehon Chûshingura or, The Treasury of the Loyal Retainers. The wildly popular drama is probably one of the commonest illustrated by ukiyo-e artists and was based upon real events from the recent past. This is perhaps the most famous drama of kabuki theatre and tells the true story of Enya Hangan who in 1701 was forced to draw his sword in the Shogun’s palace by the goading of the courtier Moronao. Hangan is obliged to commit suicide for the offence and his retainers become Ronin, leaderless samurai. They vow revenge and the play revolves around their plotting and preparation, culminating in the storming of Moronao’s house and his eventual assassination.
In Act Five, the thief Sadakuro kills the hapless Yoichibei for money. Yoichibei's daughter Okaru, has fallen in love with the ruffian Kanpei. When his master Hangan is obliged to take his life, Kanpei attempts to join the ronin who intend to avenge Hangan's death. However, he is penniless, and must somehow raise money. Okaru decides that she will sell herself to a Kyoto brothel. In this scene, her father is coming back from Kyoto with a bag of gold from the transaction when he is accosted by Sadakuro, who kills him and takes the money. While out hunting wild boar, Kanpei shoots Sadakuro by accident. Coming across the body, he impulsively takes the bloodied money bag in haste and returns to Yoichibei's house to share his good fortune. He arrives moments before a group of hunters bearing the murdered body of his father-in-law. With the dirty bag in hand, Kanpei is accused of the murder, which even he believes he may have committed, as he had neglected to check the identity of his victim before stealing away with the money bag. Once the other ronin refuse to bring him into their company, an entirely distraught Kanpei commits suicide himself in the hopes of restoring his honour and freeing Okaru from her obligation to the brothel.
The Zodiac sign is, ‘Boar’, seen in the calligraphy in the top right, black cartouche. The cartouche to the upper left shows a forest by moonlight, perhaps the scene of the abortive boar hunt whilst the portrait shows Sadakuro counting the gold coins before his own death. The game in these prints… then as now, is to connect all the elements to form the entire, allusive picture.
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 right hand margin, upper left cartouche and robe. Colour and impression fine, condition very good. Embossing to cartouche, extensive sprinkled mica on background. Publisher's mark on 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 Kiyoshika.
A copy of this print is in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
18 x 24.5 cm.
