浮世の花 - Sanders of Oxford

6. Utagawa Kunisada [Utagawa Toyokuni III] (1786-1864)
Yatsu koane tenen no zu [Eight Princesses from the Tales of the Dog Warriors]
Series: Satomi Hakkenden Sôkanbi [The Final Chapter of the Tales of the Eight Dog
Warriors from Satomi]
Date [Western]: 1855
Date [Japanese]: Twelfth Month of Ansei 2
Signature: oju Toyokuni-ga
Censor Seal: aratame [‘examined’]
Zodiacal Date Seal: usagi jûni/hare 12
Carver: Sashichi
School: Utagawa
Method: Nishiki-e woodblock print with karazuri [‘blind printing’]
Format: Ôban tate-e triptych
Condition: Good; some creasing on left-hand sheet; fugitive purple intact
Dimensions: Each sheet 14 3/4 x 9 3/4 inches
Code: SOX
Price [Mounted]: £650
A rare triptych depicting the usually neglected female characters from the Nansô Satomi
Hakkenden by Takizawa Bakin (1767-1849), a series of 106 yomihon published between
1814 and 1841. The tales, their complex plot-lines structured around bushi notions of heroic
courage, duty, honour, filial piety, righteousness, and unflinching physical prowess,
originally deriving from the Chinese novel Shuihuzhuan [The Water Margin; Japanese:
Suikoden].
The story begins with Satomi Yoshizane offering his beloved daughter Fusehime to
whomever can manage to kill his sworn enemy. In a strange twist of fate, Yatsufusa, his
faithful dog, murders the odious man, returning with his severed head. Against her distraught
father’s wishes, Fusehime subsequently accepts the hound as her husband, submitting to the
winds of karma. Eventually a child is born to the unlikely pairing. After the birth, a vassal of
Yoshizane attempts to kill Yatsufusa, but, instead, his bullet strikes Fusehime who then
commits suicide. On the moment of death, eight magical tei beads, each inscribed with a
character signifying a Confucian virtue, fly up to the heavens and vanish. They are later
discovered in the clutched hands of infant sons born to families whose names begin with inu,
the kanji for dog.
Once grown, these eight young ‘dog’ warriors, the spiritual offspring of the tragic Fusehime,
engage in numerous heroic exploits, eventually restoring the dispossessed Satomi family to
power. The huge canvas painted by the loquacious Bakin ensured its popularity as rich
source of imagery for ukiyo-e warrior prints [musha-e] and mitate-e. This work, a form of
gentle mitate-e, is interesting for its exclusive focus on the wives and daughters of the series;
as usual, portrayed by famous tayû of the day.
The grouping consists of the following characters: Shizuo-hime [1 st Princess, Shinbee's wife]
Kinoto-hime [2 nd Princess, Sôsuke’s wife]; Hinaki-hime [3 rd Princess, Daikaku’s wife];
Takeno-hime [4 th Princess, Dôsetsu’s wife]; Onami-hime [7 th Princess, Keno’s Wife]; Irotohime
[8 th Princess, Kobungo’s wife]; and two Senior Ladies in Waiting [Rôjo].
The byôbu decorated with auspicious cranes and the mass of plum blossom in the centre of
the composition indicates the early spring.
7. Utagawa Kunisada [Utagawa Toyokuni III] (1786-1864)
Cherry Trees at Night [Yozakura]
Date [Western]: 1860
Date [Japanese]: Second Month of Ansei 7
Censor/Date Seal: Combined aratame [‘examined’] and zodiacal date seal [saru
ni/monkey 2]
Publisher’s Seal: Shimizu-ya Naôjirô
School: Utagawa