Background
Kinoshita Roshû was an Osaka painter whose family/given names were Kinoshita Naoyuki, He used the gô (artist's name) Roshû. Other names by which he is known include Chokkô, Atsusaburô, and Yûtoku (his formal name, familiar name, and nickname, respectively). He is recorded as having resided in Takadaibashi, Osaka in 1833 and 1856. Roshû's artistic training followed a long line of established painters — he studied with Hayashi Bunha (1780-1845), a pupil of Nakai Rankô, 1766-1830), in turn a pupil of Shitomi Kangetsu (1747-97), who had studied with Tsukioka Settei (1710-86).
The historical Asahina [Asaina] Yoshihide (also called Saburô) was the son of Wada Yoshimori (1147-1213). He joined his father against the Hôjô (de facto rulers of Japan, circa 1200-1233) in 1213, displaying feats of bravery and martial prowess. After Yoshimori and his sons Yoshinao and Yoshishige were defeated and killed, Asahina fled, some say, to Kikaigashima (Ryûkyû), or possibly to Koma (Korea). According to legend, Asahina was the son of the celebrated Tomoe Gozen (second half, twelfth century), reputedly the wife or mistress of Minamoto no Yoshinaka (1154-84). She was a brilliant warrior in her own right, famous for fighting alongside Yoshinaka and taking the heads of even the fiercest enemies. A disputed tale claims that after Yoshinaka was killed in battle, she was defeated by Wada Yoshimori and taken as his mistress, after which she gave birth to Asahina Saburô. More likely, however, Tomoe probably retired to the province of Echigo.
The theatrical Asahina was a formidable figure within Soga mono ("Plays about the Soga Brothers"), frequently performed at the New Year. In such plays as Kotobuki Soga no taimen ("The felicitous meeting of the Soga"), Kobayashi no Asahina was an friend and ally of the brothers, Soga no Jûrô and Soga no Gorô, who were bent on avenging the murder of their father by Kudô no Suketsune. The conventional dress for Asahina included hakama (long trousers) and saru guma ("monkey shadows") makeup, sometimes called asahina no guma, and the role is typically performed in a somewhat light-hearted aragoto ("wild business") style. One of the most popular scenes in Soga mono involved Asahina in the kusazuri-biki no ba (tasset-pulling scene) in which Asahina restrains Gorô from rushing inopportunely into Suketsune's compound by tugging at the tassets (overlapping jointed metal splints) of his armor. This episode gave rise to various kusazuri-biki mono ("armor-pulling works"), mostly dances in which the tugging is choreographed to great effect. Asahina's costume, as in Roshû's surimono, is patterned with tsuru mon (crane crests) and his beard is cut in a kamahige ("sickle whiskers") — both conventional kata (forms) for Asahina first introduced by Nakamura Denkurô I in 1698 for a performance of Tsuwamono Kongen Soga ("The origin of the Soga warrior").
Design
This privately issued deluxe surimono commemorates the shûmei (name-taking or accession ceremonies) for Mimasu Daigorô V (1807-1873, reading "Baisha aratame [changing to] godaime (fifth generation] Mimasu Daigorô"), as well as for Mimasu Gennosuke III (1835-1889, signed "Gennosuke aratame [changing to] Mimasu Sôjûrô in 1/1865). There are inscriptions by the two honorees, plus poems by Seki Daichû, Jitsukawa Gakujûrô II (Ensaburô), and Onoe Tamizô II.
The small seals in lower left corner (see details at left) read Dazaemon kitazume (address) and Wada Shôbei (publisher). The artist's seal (see detail at right) reads "Roshû."
Asahina is shown tossing soya beans at devils or oni. This was part of setsubun, derived from the annual ritual of scattering soya beans to drive out devils from temples on the last day of the year. (The beans were roasted and stored until use.) While throwing the beans inside the house and around its immediate confines, one would cry out, Oni wa sôtô, fuki wa uchi ("Devils out, good luck enter!")
Note: The lower part of the print is not waterstained or discolored, but has, instead, a cloud pattern that is part of the original design.
This is a rare example of a printed work by Roshû, done in the ukiyo-e manner.
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