Bandō Hikosaburō as Hayano Kanpei and Sawamura Tanosuke as Okaru, Kakujujo Meirindō

Artwork Overview

Kakujujo Meirindō, Bandō Hikosaburō as Hayano Kanpei and Sawamura Tanosuke as Okaru
Kakujujo Meirindō, Bandō Hikosaburō as Hayano Kanpei and Sawamura Tanosuke as Okaru
Kakujujo Meirindō
Bandō Hikosaburō as Hayano Kanpei and Sawamura Tanosuke as Okaru
1862, 3rd month, Edo period (1600–1868)
Bandō Hikosaburō as Hayano Kanpei and Sawamura Tanosuke as Okaru, 1862, 3rd month, Edo period (1600–1868)
Portfolio/Series title: (scene from play "Kanedehon Chūshingura")
Where object was made: Japan
Material/technique: color woodcut
Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): left 35.8 x 24.5 cm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 14 1/8 x 9 5/8 in
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): right 35.8 x 24.5 cm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 14 1/8 x 9 5/8 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 20 x 25 in
Credit line: Museum purchase: Weare-West Fund
Accession number: 1984.0167.a,b
Not on display
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Archive Label date unknown: All of the woodcuts in Kakujujo's small oeuvre depict kabuki plays and were produced in one year, 1862. Little is known of her life except that she was a woman artist and studied with woman in the Utagawa School lineage, Sadakame. This scene shows the third act of the story Chūshingura or "Treasury of Loyal Retainers," which was based on real events of 1703. The narrative follows the revenge enacted by the 47 rōnin, or masterless samurai, who had lost their lord by treachery. The dramatic tale caught the public imagination and was preserved in bunraku puppet theatre, the nō stage and kabuki plays, as well as countless series of prints. In this print the actor Sawamura Tanosuke takes the role of Okaru, the wife of the samurai Haya no Kanpei, who is played by the actor Bandō Hikosaburō. This scene from Act 3 follows Kanpei's master's provoked attack on Moronao, the villain of the tale. Okaru has just stayed her husband's hand from killing a henchman of Moronao, but the circling black crows portend the inevitable doom to come.