Kiyohiro was a member of the third generation of the so-called Torii school, who were the dominant force in Kabuki prints in the 18th century. The founder of the school, Kiyonobu (ca. 1664 - 1729) was one of the first (if not the first) woodblock artist to produce large images of Kabuki actors. It was only with the rise of the Utagawa school, under Toyokuni I, that the Torii were supplanted as the primary recorders of the Kabuki world.
This print is printed in the technique called benizuri-e (literally, "pink printing pictures"); it was the earliest technique for producing printed (as opposed to hand-coloured) color woodblock prints, and used two color blocks, a light green, and a light red.
Yoshinaka was a general and leading member of the Minamoto samurai clan, during the Genpei War between the Minamoto and Taira clans. This war resulted in the destruction of the Taira clan, and the establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate, which was to rule Japan for the next one hundred and fifty years.
During the war, Yoshinaka feuded with his cousin Minamoto no Yoritomo for control of the Minamoto clan; as they gained the upper hand over the Taira, the cousins had a final rupture, and Yoritomo sent an army under his brothers to kill Yoshinaka.
Cornered at Awazu in Omi Province, Yoshinaka was killed by an arrow when his horse became mired in a paddy; his co-commander and adoptive brother, Imai Kanehira, committed suicide after hearing of Yoshinaka's death, by jumping from his horse with a sword in his mouth. Yoshinaka and Kanehira may be seen in this print, in the middle distance on the left-hand side of the print.
Note: For those who wish to examine a full-sized image of this
print, one is available
here.
A closeup of the portion with the death of Yoshinaka and Kanehira, with
their figures labeled, is
here.
Toyoharu first studied painting in Kyoto, where he originally created portraits of girls and actors. His birth coincided with the importation of foreign books for the first time in nearly a century, which would profoundly affect his work. He later perfected and exploited the first uki-e, which featured numerous figures and well-proportioned buildings and bridges that stretched off into the distance, as opposed to the earlier, stylized ukiyo-e prints where accurate perspective was subordinate to the human figure. The majority of his perspective prints feature historical and legendary subjects, incorporating amazing color and variety. In midlife, Toyoharu returned to paintings, woodblock prints and screenprints of girls and courtesans, maintaining that subject matter until his death.
During the early Chinese T'ang Dynasty, Shoki (Zhong Kui, to give him his
Chinese name) was a physician who committed suicide; various reasons
are given, from shame at poor exam results, to humiliating treatment
by the Emperor. In any event, he was buried with highest
honors, and in gratitude, Shoki's spirit vowed to protect any ruler
against evil demons.
When the Japanese imported Buddhism from China in the 6th century, they
also assumed many other aspects of Chinese culture, including their
mythology. During the
Edo.
period, families hung banners depicting Shoki inside and outside of
their houses to protect them; the custom continues to this day.
Bunchō was a member of the
samurai
class, who originally started in art by studying painting with the
aristocratic Kanō school. Later, he came under the influence of
Harunobu, whose lyrical lines he combined with realism of Shunshō
to produce some of the most interesting portraits in
Kabuki actors sometimes wore distinctive make-up (kumadori) to
emphasize their expressions. Red makeup (beni-guma) symbolizes
a virtuous character, or someone with superhuman powers, while blue
(ai-guma) expresses negative traits such as jealousy and fear.
This is a good example of Kabuki stage makeup;
Ichikawa Danjūrō II
is credited with introducing the curved, linear style of Kabuki makeup,
while his father, the influential
Danjūrō I
used solid red face makeup in stage roles.
The comb in the bijin's hair was probably wood; kushi (combs) and kanzashi (hairpins) became expressions of a woman's character, social class and marital status. Decorative combs and hairpins were also known by the collective name of kanzashi. Rings, necklaces and bracelets were not worn in Japan until the modern era. The elaborate hairstyles (mage), of the Edo Period required a tremendous amount of time and money to maintain, and came to symbolize nearly every facet of a woman's existence. Women adopted elaborately coiffured nihongami hairstyles consisting of forepart, side locks and back hair, created separately. It took hours for a female hairdresser to set the hair. Women often slept on a small lacquered or wooden stand topped by a soft pad which fitted under the neck, to avoid disarranging their hair.
Suzuki Harunobu's birthplace is uncertain, but it may have been Kyoto or Edo. He studied with Shigenaga, but his work indicates influences from Masanobu, Moronobu, and the Chinese painter Qu Ying, as well as the Torii school. Harunobu was commissioned to create an illustrated calendar at the end of 1764, a work that successfully melded his full color palette with innovative printing techniques to form the leading edge of nishiki-e printing. His design sense, command of full color printing, and use of embossing techniques ranked him among the geniuses of ukiyo-e.
Their image, incorporating the good luck number seven, was popular among woodblock artists. Each deity is shown with their symbol:
- Ebisu, the god of good fortune, commerce, and honest labor (the only god based on Japanese legend) is also the god of fisherman; an honest worker who earns his living by hard work, he is shown catching a fish
- Benjaiten, the goddess of eloquence and the arts (who supplanted Marishiten, who was of Hindu origin) always carries a lute
- Fukurokuju, the god of wisdom, is always shown with a very long skull; he is dressed in the robes of a scholar, and carries a staff with a sacred scroll, said to contains all the wisdom of the world
- Jurojin, the god of health and longevity, has a scholar's cap, a white beard, and is often symbolized with a tortoise
- Bishamonten, the god of authority, treasure and war, wears armor; he dispenses treasure and good fortune to poor, worthy people
- Hotei, the god of contentment and abundance, is usually portrayed as a very chubby, bare-chested individual; he is said to be the only one based on a real person
- Daikoku, the god of success, wealth, and, prosperity, wears a traditional hunters' cap, and carries a mallet
The hashira-e format prints were designed to be attached to the interior columns (hashira) in a Japanese house. It was reputedly invented by Okamura Masanobu (1684 - 1784), who is also credited with playing a key role in the creation of the nishiki-e multi-coloured printing process.
Koryusai was a former samurai, who was befriended and trained as a painter and printmaker by Harunobo. He became extremely prolific, producing over 170 series and more than 2,500 designs. In addition to ukiyo-e, biijin, and shunga prints, he was known for his interest in and craftsmanship of animals and birds as works unto themselves, rather than mere embellishments. Animals in his prints included oxen, heron, cats, and dogs, often decorated with ribbons. He is known for his mastery of hashira-e (vertical pillar prints), and also created then-contemporary print designs with traditional Chinese themes and subjects in the Kano style, the school patronized by the samurai.
Abuna-e came into fashion after a government crackdown on the more explicit shun-ga. Some sources indicate that this happened in the early 1720s, others after a ban on the explicit images in 1772. Given the importance the Japanese government of the period placed on public morality, it is quite possible that there were crackdowns at both times.
A master of realism, foreshortening and layering, Torii Kiyonaga was born under the name of Sekiguchi Shinsuke to an Edo bookseller. One of the last great figures in the Torii line, he created a great deal of work depicting kabuki, as well as women tending to everyday tasks such as doing their hair and playing with children. While some critics claim that his work sacrifices stylization for realism, it is easy to recognize archetypical art nouveau in some of his defined black shapes and thick and thin lines, long before its peak in the Western world. In 1787, as master of the Torii school, he began to train Kiyomitsu's grandson, Torii Kiyomine, to follow in his footsteps.
A student of Toyoharu, Toyohiro is best known today as the master of the famous woodblock landscape artist Hiroshige. In addition to his work under Toyoharu, Toyohiro studied in the classical academic Kano school, which produced paintings for screens, illustrations, and fans. His work was quieter, restrained and more refined than many of the more popular, mass produced works of the day, an attribute that reduced his work to a relative rarity.
Sumo is a descendant of Shinto harvest rituals dating as far back as the fifth century AD, and it retains religious overtones to this day; Shinto priests officiate as judges. Early precursors to sumo became a court ritual in Japan as early as Heian period, in the eighth century; although ritualistic, early sumo was also brutal, with the defeated wrestler often expected to face death. Sumo started on its way to becoming a professional sport in the late seventeenth century, when it was used to raise money for charitable purposes; from this it turned into a commercial enterprise, first in the region of Japan's old capital Kyōto, then in Ōsaka, the main commercial city before the rise of Edo, and finally in Edo itself, in the early eighteenth century.
The rules of sumo are simple - only the feet are allowed to touch the ground, and one of the two wrestlers must force the opponent onto the ground, or out of the ring. The silk aprons worn by wrestlers are often worth thousands of dollars and the traditional loincloth, "mawashi," can be up to 30 feet long when unwound.
Kagamiiwa Hamanosuke was a relatively undistinguished wrester; his highest ranking was komusubi, which is the fourth highest rank in sumo wrestling, and is the lowest of the sanyaku, or titleholder ranks. Born in 1769, his first match was in the 11th month of 1794, and his last match was in the 11th month of 1815. (Since the Japanese calendar does not exactly match the Western calendar, the days of this month do not match those of the Western November.)
One, the tale of the Soga brothers, was turned into a Kabuki play that became one of the great favourites of the Kabuki theatre, and was canonically the opening play of the season in Edo. It is a typically Japanese story, dating from the twelfth century; the Soga brothers, youngsters whose father had been killed, gave their lives to accomplish the required revenge on their father's killer.
The other dates from 1701, in the Genroku era; two brothers (Ishii Hanzo and Genzo) avenged the death of their father, an action so similar to that of the Soga brothers that they became known as the "Genroku Soga". Since the government looked with disfavor on contemporary themes in the theatre, the stage version of the story was set in the Bunroku era of the late sixteenth century, and the names of the characters all changed.
This print shows the actor Segawa Kikunojō III, in the role of Ogishi Kurando, the husband from a married couple who had a subsidiary role in the play. He appears to have been modelled on the hero of the Chūshingura, since that character's name in various version is very similar; e.g. Ogishi Kunai, Oishi Kuranosuke, etc.
While the portrayal in this print seems at first look to be just another typical bland woodblock print, a slightly longer look shows that in fact the model for this print was probably an individual with a natural "moon-face", such as one can still see among the Japanese, and he has in fact been portrayed in a quite life-like fashion.
This particular print is not an original, but rather a antique reproduction; the background of he original is a dark mica, but this reproduction uses a silvery background.
It shows two actors in the Kabuki drama "Yoshitsune Senbon-Zakura (Yoshitsune of the Thousand Cherry-Trees)". This served as a finale of another Kabuki play, and the plot concerns the journey of the dancing-girl Shizuka to Yoshino (famous for its cherries) to join her banished lover, the famous general Yoshitsune. The two actors are Bando Zenji (on the left, in the role of Onisadobo, a namazu-bozo, a priest who is made up to look like a catfish), and Sawamura Yodogoro II (on the right, as Kawatsura Hogen).
The background is a very dark mica over the entire background, typical of Sharaku's early works, which featured very high production quality. (These full mica backgrounds were outlawed soon after, in the eighth month of 1794, on sumptuary grounds.)
This particular print is also not an original, but also an antique reproduction, and with a somewhat darker background than the original.
Santo Kyoden exemplified the chonin culture of Edo, although in this illustration he is wearing the katana (long sword) which could only be carried by samurai. He was principally a writer, producing novels, non-fiction works and also erotica, but he also dabbled in painting, poetry and a number of other artistic fields. However, he made his living running a tobacco store, and organizing meetings for artists and poets.
The clear perspective used in this image for the building roofs, etc indicates that the technique had been thoroughly assimilated by Japanese artists by this point in time.
This portrait is a good example of Toyokuni's ability to portray an actor's likeness and mood with a minimum of well-placed lines. Without the use of modern techniques such as shading or even a floor or horizon line, Toyokuni has convincingly created an actor in a decisive moment, preparing to draw his sword.
The Kabuki actor Onoe Eizaburō I (1784 - 1849) is better known under his later stage name Onoe Kikugorō III, the most senior name in the Onoe line. He was one of the first, and one of the most versatile and talented kaneru yakusha, actors who could perform any role, not just male (both heroes and villains), but also female roles as well.
Since the name of the role is not given, it is very difficult to identify which play is being portrayed here. This lack of identification would not have been a problem for his fans, whose intense focus on the world of Kabuki would have allowed them to know instantly which role, and play, was portrayed here.
The particular actor shown here is also not absolutely certain, without knowing the exact date of the print (which we cannot tell from the information on it): the actor Seki San'emon held the name of Seki Sanjōrū I from 1797 to 1807, but it is probably Seki Sanjōrū II, who held this name from 1807 to 1839, shown here.
He specialized in male roles, in particular those in the so-called wagoto or "gentle" (as opposed to the more dramatic, forceful aragoto - literally, "rough stuff" - style), using it to play wise and clever characters who appeared on stage at the right moment to set the record straight, or foil an evil plot. He was famous both on the Edo stage, as well as that of the Kamigata.
Banzuke (the program) were the very first kind of Kabuki-related print; a banzuke from 1675 is the oldest known Kabuki-related print. Probably the publishers (woodblock prints were, after all, a commercial business) soon discovered there was a ready market for Kabuki-related material among Kabuki fans, and prints of actors started appearing shortly thereafter.
The Kabuki season ran from the 11th month (October - November) to the 10th month (September - October). The first run of performances, from the 1st day of the 11th month to the 10th day of the 12th month, was known as the kaomise ('face-showing'), as it introduced that theatre's newly-engaged actors for the season. This was followed by:
- The New Year or early spring run (hatsuharu) starting on the 15th day of the 1st month
- The satsuki run starting on the 5th day festival in the 5th month
- The summer (natsu or bon) run starting on the 15th day of the 7th month at the time of the bon festival of the dead. main actors were on holiday for this run and performances were undertaken by younger actors
- The autumn (aki) or farewell (onagori) run starting on the 9th day of the 9th month.