Kunisada: Fox Woman Kuzunoha Writing Message: Kabuki Actors Segawa Senjo and Kawarazaki Gonjuro (Sold)
Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865)
Title: Ô Brigade, Extra (Bangai), Ôji: Actors Segawa Senjo as Kuzunoha and Kawarazaki Gonjûrô I as Abe no Yasuna
Series: Edo no hana meisho-e 江戸廼花名勝会 (Flowers of Edo and Views of Famous Places)
Date: 1863
We see Kuzunoha holding her baby and writing with her mouth in this famous scene where she is about to return to her form as a fox. To the left, by Hiroshige II, we see a waterfall scene with a man bathing in it for ritual purification. Above left, by Kunisada II, is an actor, likely Kawarazaki Gonjuro I as Abe no Yasuna. In the upper middle we see a mysterious fox atop a tori gate, standing up and looking down during a rainy evening, signed Yoshitora. To the right of this is another actor print, signed Kiyokuni. This is a very popular and well-known story about a magical fox-woman who bears a son who then becomes a famous magician.
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: Excellent impression, color and condition. Some added lacquer-like effects on the black areas; the frame at right even has an extra design done in this technique.
Dimensions: ôban (35.2 x 24.2 cm) Publisher: Katôya Iwazoô (Seibei)
Literature: See MFA, FAMSF (Achenbach) museums online for other works from this series. A reference book has been privately published by Simon Henry that examines this entire series.
Signature: Oju Toyokuni ga
SKU: KUS574