Utagawa Yoshitaki (1841 - 1899) Two Actors with Stone Toad, 1870. Chuban diptych.
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A superb Yoshitaki print showing two samurai - or Ronin - beside a stone toad transforming in a mystical act. We can see it is mystical or supernatural by the orange flames floating in the centre. The play — it is a kabuki drama of the Osaka School - could be Tenjike Tokube… The story revolves around the theft of a ritual, magical sword and the substitution and theft of fake copies. The scene we are witnessing follows the fortunes of Tokubei, a sailor who arrives at court full of exotic tales of foreign lands. The thief of the sword, Sokan turns out to be his dying father who is in fact a Chinese envoy sent to bring down the shogunate. As he dies he entrusts Tokubei with his magical powers and the dread mission of regicide. Tokubei tries out his newly gained skill, and changes a stone into a huge toad. He is all set to take over his father's ambition of overthrowing Japan.
Equally it could be the story of Jiraiya, possibly more plausibly… In the legend, Jiraiya is a ninja who uses shapeshifting magic to transform himself into a gigantic toad. As the heir of a powerful clan in Kyushu of the same name, Jiraiya fell in love with Tsunade, a beautiful young maiden who had mastered slug magic. His arch-enemy was his one-time follower Yashagoro, later known as Orochimaru, a master of serpent magic.
There is one identification of this very rare print, Hachiro (left: played by Onoe Tamizo) with a large axe looks at a stone frog which is turning to magician Kahinosuke (Ichikawa Uzaemon). This from a reliable source at Artelino, but alas there is no record of the characters, the play or a plausible plot. Osaka productions are far less well documented than their Edo counterparts.
Nevertheless, a rare Yoshitaki diptych, deluxe in many respects with burnishing and metal printing. Two sheets joined, unbacked, colour, condition and impression are all excellent. A copy of the print is in the Smart Museum at Chicago.
