The Courtly Lady Masaoka, Utagawa Kunisada

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Utagawa Kunisada, The Courtly Lady Masaoka
Utagawa Kunisada, The Courtly Lady Masaoka
Utagawa Kunisada
The Courtly Lady Masaoka
1855, 9th month, Edo period (1600–1868)
Utagawa Kunisada
1786–1864
The Courtly Lady Masaoka, 1855, 9th month, Edo period (1600–1868)
Where object was made: Japan
Material/technique: color woodcut
Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 362 x 248 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 362 x 248 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 14 1/4 x 9 3/4 in
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 14 1/4 x 9 3/4 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 19 x 14 in
Credit line: Anonymous gift
Accession number: 1982.0388
Not on display
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Label texts

Archive Label 2003: Lady Masaoka is the loyal heroine of the kabuki play, “The Disputed Succession” (Meiboku Sendai Hagi). The play revolves around a conspiracy to remove the child heir of a daimyō (feudal lord) household. In an act of extreme sacrifice Lady Masaoka, wet nurse to the young lord Tsurukiyo, allows her own son to be poisoned and decapitated in the place of the young lord. The large mouse and foot depicted in the lower right corner allude to another episode in the same story. The devoted retainer, Arajishi Otokonotsuke, steps on a rat in a failed attempt to prevent it from scurrying off with written proof of the conspiracy. The large blue seal in the lower left-hand corner reads, “Toyokuni ga” (painted by Toyokuni). In 1844, Kunisada assumed the name of his master, Utagawa Toyokuni.