porches; dwellings; Single Built Works; women; kimonos; children (people by age group); men (male humans); infants; fans (costume accessories); toys (recreational artifacts); stoves (heating equipment); lanterns (lighting devices); Japanese maple
Print. no. 6 from the series of parodies of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety. The top panel illustrated the story of Lady Tang who breast fed her elderly, toothless mother-in-law. In the lower panel a baby is crawling toward its mother, who...
armor (protective wear); warriors; men (male humans); women; swords; children (people by age group); hairstyles; hair ornaments; kimonos; trees; flowers (plants); lanterns (lighting devices); built works
Taira no Kagekiyo (died 1196) fought against the Genji troops in 1185 at Dan-no-ura. Here his beloved Akoya, a courtesan of the Kyoto licensed quarters in the foothills at Fifth Avenue / Gojozaka, sees him off. (See plate 228 for the interrogation...
Holding a Kyoto style doll, Otefu of the Kadoebi-ro stands near a display platform where lacquered stands and covered bowls suggest a Girls' Day display. The publication date of the 3rd day of the 3rd month (Girls' Day) of 1884 reinforces this...
This short biography of the famed kabuki actor Bando Hikosaburo V (1832-1877) was written by the novelist Okamoto Kisen and illustrated by Chikanobu. Hikosaburo came from a family of carpenters living in the Asakusa area of Edo and was adopted in...
men (male humans); women; children (people by age group); lanterns (lighting devices); benches; pots
Meiji period color woodblock print from the "Parody of 24 Paragons of Filial Piety" series, depicting the dutiful son of Kakkyo drinking from his mother's cup watched by a pet dog. Above them in a cartouche Kakkyo and his wife are unearthing a pot...
The book entitled "The Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety" was written by the Chinese scholar Guo Jujing during the Yuan Dynasty. The book recounts the extremes to which twenty-four sons and daughters go to honor their elders. This type of print...
Yoshiwara was the pleasure district of Edo, a city within the city surrounded by high walls and a water moat, which housed Edo's prostitutes from 1617 to 1957. Its courtesans were considered among the "Flowers of Edo." The print combines three...
courtesans; women; kimonos; hairstyles; hair ornaments; fans (costume accessories); children (people by age group); lanterns (lighting devices); tables (support furniture); porches; men (male humans)
A Yoshiwara Pleasure Quarters courtesan named Takao looks out at the moon and the bird flying by, thinking perhaps of her lover. Her costume and hairstyle closely resemble that the 17th century Takao portrayed by Yoshitoshi in his series "One...
Huangxiang was so devoted to his aged father that he lightly fanned him night and day throughout the summer. Okyo might be similarly dedicated, but the look on her face and the sash tied in front suggest that she is a prostitute cooling her client.
men (male humans); warriors; armor (protective wear); swords; streams; trees; lanterns (lighting devices); banners; Single Built Works; porches
The warrior Kusunoki Masatsura (1326-1348) was the son of Kusunoki Masashige (1294-1336) and both were loyal defenders of the emperors of the Southern Court (see Plate 178). As a boy Masatsuna defended his home from curious creatures and spirits,...
Emperors; courts (social groups); fountains; kimonos; military uniforms; lanterns (lighting devices); flags; trees; Built complexes and districts; clock towers; bands (ensembles)
The emperor and court ladies stand between two fountains that flank the entry into the Ueno Park compound housing the Second National Industrial Exhibition that was open to the public from 01 March to 30 June 1881. Such fairs followed European and...
women; men (male humans); kimonos; lanterns (lighting devices); waterfalls (natural bodies of water); hats; pipes (smoking equipment); sandals; Japanese maple; built works; palanquins
The Nikko area in the mountains north of Edo/Tokyo is famous for autumn colors and for the many waterfalls that feed into Lake Chuzenji. In this view Hannya is on the right and the higher Hoto at left. Chikanobu shows two elegantly dressed ladies,...
Although Lady Matsushima was an attendant of the shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo (1192-1219), Hojo Tomotoki (1193-1245), second son of the regent Hojo Yoshitoki, frequently sent her love letters, even though she was deeply in love with Wada Asahina...
legends (folk tales); women; men (male humans); kimonos; lanterns (lighting devices); children (people by age group); tables (support furniture); arches
The Nabeshima family, daimyo of Hizen Province, continued to be plagued by a cat monster (see Plates 34-35). According to legend, the mistress of the Lord of Saga Castle was killed by a cat monster that possessed her body and then slowly drained...
women; men (male humans); kimonos; lanterns (lighting devices); swords; built works; porches
In the epic novel Nanso Satomi Hakkenden by Takizawa Bakin (1767-1848), eight warriors, whose names contain the character for "dog" / ken, are called upon to defend the Satomi family domain. Inuzaka Shino is shown on the verandah of the Taigyu...
women; children (people by age group); men (male humans); kimonos; lanterns (lighting devices); fusuma; interior spaces
In the city of Sendai, several assassination attempts were made to overthrow the Date family. The print depicts a masked assassin being overpowered by a family retainer while the young heir is shielded by his nursemaid during an attack in the...
women; children (people by age group); elderly; kimonos; fans (costume accessories); porches; gardens; Japanese maple; lanterns (lighting devices)
In print #6 Chikanobu has inverted the filial piety narratives: Cui Nanshan’s young wife Lady Tang willing suckles her husband’s great grandmother, who has no teeth, but in the Japanese scene, a mother attracts her baby son to come nurse. The...
men (male humans); women; children (people by age group); kimonos; snow (precipitation); parasols; lanterns (lighting devices); hats; baskets; sandals
The famous thief Nezumi Kozo, the "Little Rat Kozo" of Edo, disguised as Takasaki Beian, stands outside an inn talking with a young boy, the clam seller Sankichi. Kozo was a "Robin Hood" type character, eventually caught and executed in 1835.
children (people by age group); women; kimonos; musical instruments; lanterns (lighting devices); bridges (built works); zithers
The young boy Ushiwakamaru (later known as Minamoto no Yoshitsune 1159-1189) is shown in the garden, talking with a servant of Princess Joruri, who is playing a zither / koto. According to the 15th century Joruri-hime monogatari, Joruri was the...
men (male humans); women; children (people by age group); kimonos; trees; lanterns (lighting devices)
The 10-11th century poet Izumi Shikibu and her daughter KoShikibu (d. 1025) were visiting Kitano Shrine in Kyoto and noticed a painting / ema of a bird. The young girl spontaneously composed a poem, which reportedly made the pictured bird begin to...
