Iwai Kumesaburo II as Oiso no Tora and Onoe Kikugoro III as Soga no Juro, by Utagawa Kunisada

An image of Iwai Kumesaburô II as Oiso no Tora and Onoe Kikugorô III as Soga no Jûrô. Kunisada, Utagawa (Japanese, 1786-1865). Surimono. Colour print from woodblocks with metallic pigment and blind embossing (karazuri). Shikishiban. Signed: Gototei Kunisada ga. Printer’s seal: Ryûsai Chimata (Inô Naojirô). Poets: Tairyôtei Tachikata(?), Bairintei Matsukage. 1818-1820. Ukiyo-e. Notes: From a set of five prints commissioned for the Hisakataya poetry group whose emblem, a stylised koto bridge, surmounts the red inscription: Goban-tsusuki (from a set of five). The set depicts characters from the cycle of plays telling of the revenge of the two Soga brothers, Soga no Jûrô and Soga no Gorô, on their father’s murderer Kudô Suketsune. The Iori-mokkô motif (a magnolia within a stylised hut) associated with Kudô Suketsune decorates the curtain looped across the top of all five prints in the series. It also occurs on the curtain on the Shimadai (island tray) decoration held by Oiso no Tora in this print. The motif alludes to Suketsune’s hunting lodge at Susono below Mount Fuji, where he was finally murdered by the Soga brothers. Soga no Jûrô’s costume bears the pattern of flying-plovers (chidori) that was traditionally associated with him, while his sleeve is decorated with the Yamagata-mokkô motif of Soga. His mistress Tora’s costume is decorated with a Soga butterfly motif, which was also associated with the actor Kumesaburô II.

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Iwai Kumesaburô II as Oiso no Tora and Onoe Kikugorô III as Soga no Jûrô. Kunisada, Utagawa (Japanese, 1786-1865). Surimono. Colour print from woodblocks with metallic pigment and blind embossing (karazuri). Shikishiban. Signed: Gototei Kunisada ga. Printer’s seal: Ryûsai Chimata (Inô Naojirô). Poets: Tairyôtei Tachikata(?), Bairintei Matsukage. 1818-1820. Ukiyo-e. Notes: From a set of five prints commissioned for the Hisakataya poetry group whose emblem, a stylised koto bridge, surmounts the red inscription: Goban-tsusuki (from a set of five). The set depicts characters from the cycle of plays telling of the revenge of the two Soga brothers, Soga no Jûrô and Soga no Gorô, on their father’s murderer Kudô Suketsune. The Iori-mokkô motif (a magnolia within a stylised hut) associated with Kudô Suketsune decorates the curtain looped across the top of all five prints in the series. It also occurs on the curtain on the Shimadai (island tray) decoration held by Oiso no Tora in this print. The motif alludes to Suketsune’s hunting lodge at Susono below Mount Fuji, where he was finally murdered by the Soga brothers. Soga no Jûrô’s costume bears the pattern of flying-plovers (chidori) that was traditionally associated with him, while his sleeve is decorated with the Yamagata-mokkô motif of Soga. His mistress Tora’s costume is decorated with a Soga butterfly motif, which was also associated with the actor Kumesaburô II.

Image data

Accession Number: P.498-1937
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Photographer name: Image Library; Fitzwilliam Museum
Image height: 1025 pixels
Image width: 906 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.0 (Windows)
Filesize: 1.19MB

Key words

19th Century acting actor actors birds blind embossing butterflies butterfly characters chidori colour printing costume Edo Period embossed embossing female Fitz_PDP hair hair ornament hairpin hairstyle Iwai Kumesaburo II Japanese kanzashi hairpin karazuri Kunisada male metallic pigment mistress Oiso no Tora Onoe Kikugoro Otowaya performance performer performing pigment plays plovers poem poetry poets print role Soga no Juro surimono theatre theatrical ukiyo-e Utagawa Kunisada woman woodblock woodcut

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            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024)
            "Iwai Kumesaburo II as Oiso no Tora and Onoe Kikugoro III as Soga no Juro, by Utagawa Kunisada"
            Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/image/media-764852564 Accessed: 2024-11-16 03:43:13

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            |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-16 03:43:13|publisher=The
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