Background
The legendary Chinzei Hachirô Tametomo (1139-70) was seven feet tall, a celebrated archer whose bow was more than eight feet long and required the strength of three ordinary men to bend it. He could shoot arrows — their heads as large as spears — with such force that they could sink an enemy ship. Said to have chased away the god of smallpox, Tametomo's image acquired talismanic powers against the disease, leading to his portrayal in "smallpox prints" (hôsô-e).
The historical Minamoto Tametomo joined his father, the general Tameyoshi, in the seminal Genpei wars. In the first major battle — the Hôgan Incident of 1156 — Tametomo fought against Taira forces led by his brother, Yoshitomo. The victorious Yoshitomo ordered the execution of Tameyoshi and the exile of Tametomo. During his banishment to the island of Oshima in Izu, Tametomo conquered some of the neighboring islands. This brought forth an imperial expeditionary force to hunt him down. With no escape, Tametomo took his own life, said to be the first recorded instance in which a samurai committed ritualistic suicide by cutting open his abdomen (seppuku).
The Tametomo depicted in Hokuei's print is based on an epic tale written by Takizawa Bakin (1767-1848). It was published in fiction-book format in 29 volumes from 1807-11 under the title "Strange Tales of the Crescent Moon" (Chinsetsu yumihari zuki). In this version, Tametomo finds refuge in the Ryukyu Islands. When Tametomo shipwrecks at Okinawa in the Ryukyu archipelago, he defends Princess Neiwanjo against a minister plotting to take over her throne. He then marries her and fathers a son who becomes the first in a lineage of Okinawan kings, the ancestors of Ashikaga Takaiji (1305-58), who established the Ashikaga shogunate, reigning from 1336 to 1568. Tragedy strikes, however, when Neiwanjo dies. Tametomo then follows her to heaven, leaving their son to rule.
Design
Portraits in roundels were popular in ukiyo-e, offering an intimate glimpse of actors reflected in backstage dressing mirrors, as well as suggesting telescopic views of the actors as they perform onstage. Hokuei produced eleven ôkubi-e with roundels or mirrors: four designs for the series Contemporary Makeup Mirrors (Tôsei keshô kagami, five in the series Fashionable Mirror Covers (Ryukô kagami no ooi, plus two others not in a series. Aside from their literal function as reflective surfaces, mirrors (kagami) were understood to present a zoomed-in facial likeness of an actor and thus, reputedly, a view into his personality and true self.
Our impression is excellent, with metallic colorants and burnishing. The background has a dark pink in the upper half and below, unprinted paper.
Other impressions: Ikeda Bunko Library (大H278); Náprstek Museum, Prague (37677; , 37678); National Museums Scotland (A.1887.745.35.36-37)
Note: This performance commemorated the thirteenth anniversary of the death of Rikan II’s great predecessor, Arashi Rikan I (Arashi Kichisaburō II, called O-Rikan).
References: IKBYS-II, no. 565-566; Fiorillo, Hokuei: Master of Osaka Kabuki Prints, 2024, cat. no. 118
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