Kuniyoshi 国芳: Station Kuragano; Jiraiya 倉加野 (Sold)

Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861)
Title: Station Kuragano; Jiraiya 倉加野
Series: Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidô Road  木曾街道六十九次之内
Date: 5/1852

The hero Jiraiya is sitting by an impromptu fire with his two men, one of them holding the baby boy Tomokichi that they have just rescued from a ravine. The three are looking up towards an unknown sound. Jiraiya is seated on an unseen camp chair and holds himself with loose confidence, his fan in one hand and his left hand relaxed, unafraid of anything that might be lurking in the darkness. He was, after all, a master of Toad Magic, and here the inset cartouche is in the shape of a toad who faces the viewer. Jiraiya was the hero of popular kabuki plays that were based on the fantasy novel “The Tale of Jiraiya”, published in 1806.

Condition: Excellent impression and color. Very good condition. Minor binding holes at left and tiny wormage in right margin.
Dimensions: ôban (36 x 24.4 cm)
Publisher: Sumiyoshiya Masagoro
Literature: See Sarah Thompson’s “The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidô”, figure 13, page 42. See British Museum and MFA Boston collections.
Seal: kiri
Signature: Ichiyûsai Kuniyoshi ga

SKU: KUY567