Otsuyu holding peony lantern, Toyohara Kunichika

Artwork Overview

Toyohara Kunichika, Otsuyu holding peony lantern
Toyohara Kunichika, Otsuyu holding peony lantern
Toyohara Kunichika
Otsuyu holding peony lantern
1892, Meiji period (1868–1912)
Toyohara Kunichika
1835–1900
Otsuyu holding peony lantern, 1892, Meiji period (1868–1912)
Where object was made: Japan
Material/technique: color woodcut
Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 362 x 240 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 372 x 250 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 14 1/4 x 9 7/16 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 14 5/8 x 9 13/16 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 19 x 14 in
Credit line: Anonymous gift
Accession number: 1982.0394
Not on display
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Kunichika primarily designed prints of Kabuki theater subjects; one of his most famous works is a series of ōkubi-e (bust portraits) of actors.

This print depicts the heroine, Ostuyu, of the gruesome play, Kaidan Botan Dōrō (The Ghost Story of the Peony Lantern) performed in 1892 at the Kabuki-za theater. To advertise the production of this play, shops in Edo (Tokyo) hung out peony shaped lanterns and 2,000 such lanterns were floated down the Sumida River.

Otsuyu, played by Onoe Eisaburō IV, died of unrequited love for Hagiwara Shinzaburō. After her death, she visited Shinzaburō for six nights. When his friend saw Shinzaburō embraced by a skeleton, he tried to stop the visits by placing Buddhist charms around the house. (On this print, a charm can be seen posted on the pillar to the right.) Unfortunately, the ghost bribed a third party to remove the charms and that night's embrace killed Shinzaburō.