Kuniyoshi: Station Warabi: Dosetsu and Magical Fire (Sold)

Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Title: Station Warabi: Dôsestsu
Series: Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidô Road
Date: 5/1852

Inuyama Dôsetsu is shown displaying his mastery over the fire element. He collects offerings for temples by performing this miraculous display. Here we see some remnants of straw at the lower right, but Dôsetsu is completely engulfed in flames, his robes and hair flowing upward by the fire-induced wind. His hands are clasped in a secret mudra, and he holds a sprig of pines wrapped in paper in his mouth as part of the magical spell. The cartouche is lined with puppies to humorously connect the image with the story of the “Eight dogs of Satomi”. One of the finest designs in the series. The colors of the flames are unique to each print, as the lead-containing orange pigment will oxidize in an unpredictable way on every impression.

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition.
Dimensions: ôban (36.5x 24.6 cm)
Publisher: Izutsuya Shôkichi
Literature: See Sarah Thompson’s “The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidô”, figure 3, page 22.
Seal: kiri
Signature: Ichiyûsai Kuniyoshi ga

SKU: KUY597