Kunisada: Ro Brigade, Second Group, Shinba; Sawamura Chojuro V holding a Standard ろ　二番組

Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865)
Title: Ro Brigade, Second Group, Shinba

Series: Edo no hana meisho-e 江戸廼花名勝会 (Flowers of Edo and Views of Famous Places) Date: 1862

Ro Brigade, Second Group, Shinba. Bottom right we see Sawamura Chojuro V in the role of Toshifumi (Kibun) Daijin. He wears a ceremonial triangular hat and holds a type of standard that may be ceremonial. The background scene above was done by Hiroshige II, and shows a lumberyard. A freshly caught red sea bream is shown at left in round tray, designed by Kyosai. There are no doubt many interesting comparisons and examples of wordplay contained in this design.

The term “flowers of Edo” (Edo no hana) can refer, among other things, to fires. The title panel for each print in this series shows the lanterns and identifying standard (matoi) for one of the brigades of firefighters (hikeshi) assigned to various districts. On the west side of the Sumida River were 48 brigades named for the symbols of the kana syllabary and grouped into 8 numbered groups (1 to 10, minus the bad-luck numbers 4 and 7). On the east side of the river, brigades were numbered and assigned to directional groups. Outlying districts were covered by special brigades, here designated “extra” (bangai). Each title gives the name or number of a brigade, its group, and its district, followed by the kabuki scene chosen to match it. Each print highlights the most famous aspects of an individual district in Edo, and includes a scene from the district and a kabuki actor portrait that relates to the place in some way. There is a lot going on in each design, as in the upper right are the standards and lanterns for specific fire brigades, and on the upper left are usually magic lantern slides. Then there are one or two designs that comprise the lower portion, with Kunisada designing the actor portrait and various (21! in total for the series) other artists designing the landscape scenes. 

Condition: Very good impression, color and condition. Some smudges, especially bottom left. Dimensions: ôban (35.3 x 24.2 cm)
Publisher: Katôya Iwazoô (Seibei)
Literature: See MFA, FAMSF (Achenbach) museums online for other works from this series. 
Signature: Toyokuni ga

SKU: KUS563