Kunisada II: Cat Carrying Love Letter for the Third Princess in the Tale of Genji

Artist: Utagawa Kunisada II (1823-1880)
Title: The Oak Tree (Kashiwagi) かしわ木　三十六  Date: 1857

Chapter 36. Scene where the Third Princess peeks from behind a hanging slatted screen, her cat on a leash obediently carrying a love letter in its mouth to a man standing on her porch. This is Kashiwagi, who holds a kemari ball, which is used in the aristocratic court game Kemari; this character famously played this game with Prince Genji. Kashiwagi has an affair with the Third Princess , and this chapter focuses on the fallout from that affair. The cat’s fur features blindprinting. Above, the cartouche features shells, one with the Genji-ko chapter symbols used to identify each of the 54 Chapters. The second, matching shell has a poem connected to the chapter, linking this series visually to the shell matching game that was very popular at the time.

Condition: Very good impression, color and condition. Fold line a few mm along left margin.  Dimensions: ôban (36 x 25.4 cm)
Publisher: Tsutaya Kichizo  Signature: Baichôrô Kunisada ga 梅蝶楼国貞画

Literature: See the Van Gogh Museum collection, Amsterdam and the MFA Boston collection.  Bremen-Ito, K. van, Gulik, W.R. van, Kodera, Tsukasa, Rappard-Boon, C. van, Japanese prints : catalogue of the Van Gogh Museum's collection, Zwolle, 2006, p. 332. Hiraki Ukiyo-e Foundation, Nyan to mo neko darake/ Cats of Many Varieties (2012), #15; Kubo Tsunehiko and Sons Collection Ukiyo-e Hanga (2004), #42-36; the series: Marks et al., Genji's World (2012), list #G360 (no photos)

SKU: KIS011