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Archive: Hirosada (廣貞)

Description:

(R) Kataoka Gadô II as Matsugae Tetsunosuke and (L) Arashi Rikan III as Saibara Kageyu in Meiboku Sendai hagi, Chikugo Theater, Osaka; Print Title: Kômei buyûden

Signature:
Hirosada
Seals:
No artist seal
Publisher:
Tenki (Tenmaya Kihei: 天満屋喜兵衞)
Date:
3/1848
Format:
(H x W)
Chûban diptych nishiki-e
26.1 x 37.8 cm
Impression:
Very good
Condition:
Very good color; moderate condition (slightly soiled, small worm holes and stains, some rough edges and creases, slightly trimmed on right edges, but left sides intact to margins)
Price (USD/¥):
SOLD (Ref #HSD04)
Comments:
Background

Meiboku sendai hagi (Sandalwood and bush clover of Sendai: 伽羅先代萩) dramatized the intriques over succession within the Date clan of Sendai during the third quarter of the seventeenth century. It was performed in an alternate sekai ("world" or theatrical setting: 世界), set back in time during the Onin civil war under the Ashikaga shogunate of the fifteenth century (Ashikaga thus becomes a theatrical substitute for the Date clan name). It is a classic play, so popular that during the Edo period it had at least one performance nearly every year since its premiere in 1777. The fictionalized central story involved Lord Ashikaga Yorikane's forays into the pleasure quarter and his murder of the courtesan Takao (高尾). This episode is an amplification of an actual incident in which the twenty-one-year-old clan leader Date Tsunamune became the lover of the Yoshiwara courtesan Takao, causing a scandal that led to his downfall. Another story line involves Nikki Danjô (Yorikane's evil nephew), the orchestrator of a conspiracy to overthrow Yorikane. The intrigue failed, however, and Nikki was slain.

The giant ghostly rodent lurking behind the two protagonists is actually Nikki, who possess magical powers and can transform himself into a rat. He is a prime example of an important role type known as jitsuaku ("real villains": 実悪) — unrepentantly evil samurai who plot to overthrow their lords. They are also referred to as kuni kuzushi ("demolisher of nations") to signify their intention to usurp an emperor's throne or a daimyô's domain.

This is another example of a Hirosada design with a didactic or moralizing title (Kômei buyûden, or "Tales of celebrated bravery") following the Tenpô Reforms (Tenpô kaikaku), edicts that in 7/1842 banned actor prints in Osaka, virtually halting print production in Kamigata for five years. A gradual weakening of enforcement ensued despite reiterations in 1844 and 1845 by the government of its intention to continue the reforms, and by 1847 relatively normal print production had resumed, though printmakers remained cautious for nearly a decade afterwards. Typical of this period, actor names have been omitted, although theater fans did not need inscribed names to recognize their favorite stars.

Design

This is one of Hirosada's more dramatic prints— particularly noteworthy is the effective contrast between the saturated, colorful pigments of the two samurai and the pale gray washes of the rat.

References: IBKYS-IV, no. 85; WAS III-6, no. 58; KNP-6, p. 512; NKE, p. 396