Jukodo Yoshikuni (active 1813 - 1831) Ichikawa Ebijuro II as Ki no Haseo, 1828. Oban.
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This print by the artist Yoshikuni, displays the vigorous (sometimes called "strong hand") style of the Osaka School of the period. Yoshikuni was a hugely important figure, being not only an artist and printmaker but a poet in his own right and an important figurehead in the literary and poetic coteries that were a feature of the cultural scene in Osaka in the first half of the nineteenth century.
The high point of Yoshikuni’s career was the period 1820-22, coinciding with the return to Osaka of Nakamura Utaemon III. His prints from this period are known to be exceptional and to show a particularly “strong hand’. The play Tenmangû aiju no meiboku ("Love under the plum, pine, and cherry at the heaven-filling shrine") appears to be an adaptation of the famous puppet and kabuki play Secrets of Calligraphy.
The play was based on legends surrounding the life of Sugawara Michizane (845-903) also known as Kan Shôjô — a celebrated scholar, poet, statesman, and calligrapher who ran afoul of the ruling Minamoto clan. He died in exile, but in 987 was deified as a Tenjin or "heavenly deity".
In the main thread of the drama, Fujiwara no Tokihira (Shihei) was a high-ranking courtier plotting to overthrow the emperor. Through deceit he gains Sugawara's trust, then frames him for the conspiracy. (Tokihira reveals the full extent of his evil character in a celebrated and unusual scene called warai no maku or "laughing curtain," in which he utters a cruel laugh as the curtain is drawn.) Sugawara is exiled, where he finally learns of Tokihira's treachery. After offering his prayers, he becomes a thunder god and sends his spirit back to the capital to kill Tokihira.
There are various connections between the plays, for instance, the plum, pine, and cherry alludes to the triplets Umeômaru, Matsuômaru, and Sakuramaru, respectively, in the Sugawara play. A good explanation of the dramas can be found on the Lyon Collection’s website.
The performance of the play was well documented and this great example of the rough expressionist style of Yoshikuni is one sheet of three. Alas, the sheet is much worn and the colour has faded but its power and forceful design remain and the print is captivating in its directness.
Thinning of paper, surface marks, fading. The very low price for this print respects the condition of the piece.
There is a copy of this sheet in the British Museum, London.
36 x 23 cm.
