JAPANESE AND KOREAN ART 23 march 2022

(reverse)
540
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861)
The Monster Skeleton
Edo period (1615-1868), circa 1844
An oban tate-e print triptych entitled Soma no furudairi ni Masakado
himegimi Takiyasha yojutsu o motte mikata o atsumuru, Oya no Taro
Mitsukuni yokai o tamesan to koko ni kitari tsui ni kore o horobosu (In
the Ruined Palace of [Taira] Masakado at Soma His Daughter Princess
Takiyasha Uses Sorcery to Summon Allies, Oya no Taro Mitsukuni
Comes to Put the Monster to the Test and Finally Destroys It), with
red cartouches identifying (right to left) Takiyasha’s faithful servant
Araimaru, Oya no Taro Mitsukuni, and Princess Takiyasha; each sheet
signed Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga (the right-hand sheet with paulownia-leaf
seal); publisher’s marks Hachi; censor’s seals Watari (3)
14 3/4 x 10 1/8in (37.4 x 25.7cm) each approximately
$150,000 - 250,000
Widely considered among the very finest of Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s
three-sheet historical and mythological prints, over recent decades
this arresting image has become almost as famous and soughtafter
as his contemporary Hokusai’s great views of Mount Fuji. The
background to the appearance of the skeleton specter is as follows:
Taira no Masakado (d.940) had once tried to set himself up as a rival to
the legitimate emperor of Japan, building his own imperial palace in a
remote part of the country. His daughter the beautiful sorceress
Takiyasha (seen at left) lives on in the dilapidated building along with
her retainer Araimaru (right), her presence a lingering threat to the
authority of the rival Minamoto clan, whose leader Yorinobu (968-
1048) sends the hero Oya no Taro Mitsukuni (center) to destroy her.
Kuniyoshi draws us into the very heart of the drama as Mitsukuni,
undeterred by the vast, looming presence of the skeleton clutching at
the palace’s decaying blinds, subdues the hapless Araimaru without so
much as unsheathing his sword.
20 | BONHAMS