Hover to zoom or click for full-size image.
KUNIYOSHI Ichiyusai. (1798-1861)
The Sorceress Takiyasha. 8/1852.
- Category
- Japanese | 20th Century
- Series
- The Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kisokaido.
- Publisher
- Sumiyoshi-ya Masagorô
oban tate-e, 25.5 cm × 36.2 cm
Excellent impression with strong woodgrain; the black rock and tree glisten with mica to create the illusion of frost. Pristine colour. Small repaired wormage above print number seal and one lower right, otherwise very good condition.
In the mountain snow of Ashida, the sorceress Takiyasha performs a magic ritual, clenching a torch between her teeth, a mirror around her neck and a sword in her right hand. She is followed by her henchman Araimaru who brandishes the head of one of her victims on a stick. Her short hair belies her former vocation as a nun before she resorted to witchcraft.
There are many puns on word and image in this print. The horses around the title cartouche pun Soma, the name of her ancestral home, and geta is a pivotal word for her high clogs and the station Ashida. The bird shape cartouche for the landscape is derived from the name Uto Yasukata, a loyal retainer killed by Takiyasha and her brother. Utoysukata is also the name of a bird in Northern Japan.
Signed Ichiyûsai Kuniyoshi ga. Censor seals Kinugasa, Murata, Rat 8.
Literature; Pg.70-71 The Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kisokaido. Sarah E Thompson. IBSN 978-0-7649-48893
Sold
Hover to zoom or click for full-size image.
KUNIYOSHI Ichiyusai. (1798-1861)
Ôshô. 1853.
- Category
- Japanese | Warriors War And Legend
- Series
- A mirror of The Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety.
- Publisher
- Izumi-ya Ichibei.
oban yoko-e, 36.4 cm × 26.3 cm
Good impression, very good colour and condition.
Osho (Wang Hsiang) was a public official who lived in the 3rd century A.D. One day in winter, his stepmother expressed a desire for fresh fish even though all the rivers were frozen. Osho lay down on the surface of the ice until the warmth of his body caused the ice to melt and fish sprang forth from the hole on the surface.
Signed Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga.
£850
Hover to zoom or click for full-size image.
KUNIYOSHI Ichiyusai. (1798-1861)
Nakamura Utaemon IV as Hidari Kingoro. c.1847
- Category
- Japanese | 20th Century
- Publisher
- Iba-ya Kyûbei.
aiban yoko-e , 28.3 cm × 22.0 cm
Excellent impression and colour. Restored worm holes, outside the fan in the top and bottom left. A centrefold, otherwise good condition.
An uncut uchiwa-e (fan print) of the actor Nakamura Utaemon IV who plays the sculptor Hidari Jingoro in the play "Kyo-Ningyo". The dance-drama received its premier at the Kawarakiza theatre on the fourth month, 1847. Holding a mallet and chisel, he works on a temple carving of a lion that will come to life and chase the pursuers of his lord's daughter, Princess Izutsu, whom he adopted and raised.
Singed; Kuniyoshi ga with Murata Mera seal.
Sold
Hover to zoom or click for full-size image.
KUNIYOSHI Ichiyusai. (1798-1861)
Last Stand of the Kusunoki Heroes at Shijo-Nawate. 1851.
- Category
- Japanese | 20th Century
- Publisher
- Fujioka-ya Keijirô.
oban triptych, 76.1 cm × 38.6 cm
Excellent impression and very good condition, full size sheets.
Amidst an onslaught of arrows, the Kusonoki clan fight stoically against desperate odds. Heavily wounded, their blue faces are pallid with the imminence of death. Wada Shinbochi (Genshu) leads the way, brandishing enemy heads as trophies, followed by Masatomo with a ravaged battle standard. Their leader, Kusunoki Masatsura, has fallen to the ground and is propped against the fallen horse. Two slain samurai can be seen in the middle distance. Signed Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga.
Ref; Plate 32 pg 92-93 Kuniyoshi Timothy Clark IBSN 9781905711406
Sold