●Highlight of the Exhibition●
This is one of the works executed by genius ukiyo-e artist, Utagawa Kuniyoshi. The upper part of the picture depicts the Introduction chapter of the story of “Kanadehon Chūshingura”. And the bottom part of the picture depicts the second chapter of the story which is the most famous scene of the story. Upon closer examination of the picture, you will notice that the faces of figures on picture are depicted by the faces of frogs. The title of the picture is “Gamadehon Hyōkingura”. The faces of frogs were well depicted, capturing precisely the distinct features of the characters from Chūshingura. In fact, these frog faces are said to be based on faces of famous kabuki actors like Nakamura Utaemon Ⅳ. This work is regarded as one of the masterpieces of Utagawa Kuniyoshi. The picture is still full of humor to the modern eye.
●Utagawa ToyokuniⅢ “Chūshingura mei-mei-den : Kōno Moronao and Momoi Wakasa-no-suke”
●Kitagwa Utamaro "Celebrated Beauties in the Parody of Drama "Chūshingura": ActⅡ"
Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Toyokuni, Utagawa Hiroshige and Utagawa Kuniyoshi. Popular ukiyo-e artists were known to have depicted many kinds of pictures on Chūshingura with various ideas. Both yakusha-e (pictures of kabuki actors on stage) and uki-e (perspective pictures) of Chūshingura were popular among the Edo people. There are also parody pictures using beautiful women and animals which take the form of characters from Chūshingura. Thanks to these works, we can understand the popularity of this story at that time.
The incident of the historical revenge by the Forty-seven Rōnin (Akōrōshi) of the death of their master, Asano Takumi-no-Kami Naganori occurred about 300 years ago. The incident was called “The Revenge of the Forty-seven Rōnin (samurai)”, also known as Akō Vendetta and has been told and retold in novels, TV dramas and films.
On December 14th 1703, the 47 leaderless warriors banded together to avenge the death of their lord Asano Takumi-no-Kami Naganori, leader of the Akō clan in Banshū domain. The Forty-seven samurai raided the residence of Kira Kōzuke-no-suke Yoshihisa and took his neck. At the time of this incident, this dramatic story was often adapted into various art forms, such as traditional puppet plays called NingyōJōruri and kabuki plays. Among them, the story called “Kanadehon Chūshingura” is famous and has been remained popular for more than 250 years since its first performance. The theme of Chūshingura was often depicted in the works of ukiyo-e wood-block prints; the media reflecting the trend of the Edo period. In the works of ukiyo-e, the theme of Chūshingura was depicted with kabuki actors and even with beautiful women in some unique parodies. The works of ukiyo-e on Chūshingura tells us the deep attachment and enthusiasm the Edo people had to this story.
Even today, the story of Chūshingura has still been favored by many. Please enjoy the charm of Chūshingura which fascinated many through these works of ukiyo-e wood block prints.
●Torii Kiyonaga “Chūshingura Act Ⅶ, Kabuki Actor, Sawamura Sōjūrō Ⅲ as Ōboshi Yuranosuke, Iwai Hanshirō Ⅳas Okaru and Arashi Otohachi as Ono Kudayū”
“Let’s Make a Raid! Chūshingura depicted in Ukiyo-e”
●Katsukawa Shun’ei “ Kabuki Actor, Sawamura Sōjūrō Ⅲ as Ōboshi Yuranosuke”
Just after its occurrence, the Genroku Akō Incident was adopted into kabuki plays and puppet plays called ningyō jōruri. Among many stories on Chūshigura, the definitive edition of the story called “Kanadehon Chūshingura” was played in 1748, 50 years after the incident, using ningyō jōruri.
In the next year, the story was played in Kabuki play and many famous kabuki actors who were representative of each period played the characters of Chūshingura. In this exhibition, we will exhibit the works of ukiyo-e wood-block prints which focused on kabuki actors who are playing the characters of Chūshingura.
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●Utagawa Kuniyoshi “Parody Picture of the Story “Kanadehon Chūshingura (Gamadehon Hyōkingura): Introduction Chapter and the Second Chapter”
( Will be closed on Decmber 6 and 13th)
●Katsushika Hokusai “Chūshingura:Making a Raid on Enemy's Mansion”
Translation supervised by Princeton University Language Project
12月
S M T W T F S
01 02 03 04
05 06 07 08 09 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31
●Utagawa Hiroshige “ Drama, "Chūshingura"：Act V”
1. The Revenge Story that Kept being Depicted
●Introduction ●
December 3rd～19th, 2010