Nishiki-e, color woodblock print, signed on the plate: Kunisada ga
Date: 1856
Format: Oban diptych (mm 355x500)
Publisher: Fujiokaya Keijiro
Color woodblock print, oban diptych. Beautiful proof printed on Japanese paper. In perfect condition complete with the engraved part.
Kabuki actors (from right) Ichikawa Kodanji IV as Yahei Byoe Munekiyo, with an open umbrella and lantern, and Onoe Kikugoro IV as Tokiwa Gozen, kneeling to protect his three sons (Imawaka, Otowaka and Ushiwaka), in the play “Joro no makoto Osada no chuko” by Kawatake Shinshichi II, performed at Ichimura-za from the 7th of the 11th month, 1856 (Ansei 3).
Fantastic kabuki in the snow, featuring Lady Tokiwa, the widow of Minamoto Yoshitomo who was killed by Taira Kiyomori. Tokiwa fled with her three sons, but was forced to return when Kiyomori held her mother hostage. Here the great warrior Taira Munekiyo glares at Lady Tokiwa as she kneels in the snow after returning, clutching one baby to her chest and shielding her other two young children under her kimono. A fantastic drawing from this famous story.
Bibliography
Bynon, Department of Oriental Prints, British Museum, no. 65.
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_1902-0606-0-128