Kunisada 国貞: Female Danshichi Attempting Murder in the Rain 女達団七じまのおかち

Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865)
Title: The actor Iwai Kumesaburō III as the Onnadate Danshichijima no Okaji

 Series: Legends of Chivalrous Heroes 梨園侠客伝 (Rien kyokaku den) Date: 1863

The actor Iwai Kumesaburō III as the Onnadate Danshichijima no Okaji. The MFA has translated the title of this series as “Heroic Commoners in Kabuki”, as it shows ‘ordinary people’ taking on extraordinary roles.

During this period (as well as today; see “Breaking Bad”), tales of outlaws who lived outside of the constrictions of society became quite popular. Kabuki plays were written based on both notorious thieves as well as bad boys invented whole cloth. Most of these wicked/heroic characters were men, but here we see a wickedly heroic woman. She raises aloft a short sword, her long hair tumbling unkempt down her back. This is actually the female version of the outlaw hero Danshichi, an infamous character from the play “Natsu Matsuri Naniwa Kagami”. Onnadate were female versions of the otokodate, chivalrous male heroes who were very popular in plays at the time. This may be from the play “Natsu Sugata Onna Danshichi” (Summer Appearance: Female Danshichi), written so that the main character is Okaji, a woman. She is presented as embodying the same courage, loyalty and independence as the male character in the main play. Here she is just as violent. She raises a sword (presumably against her evil mother-in-law), grasping at the top of an open umbrella that is wielded by an unseen person. The rain is pouring down, and a cuckoo is shown in flight. She seems to be wearing a summer yukata, and her teeth are  blackened. This must be a dramatic climax of the play, and the intensity of the storm must match the intensity of the drama and emotions.

This is from the first edition, which features unparalleled printing on heavy paper. The rain is printed in fine grey/white lines, and the black portion of her obi features some sort of unusual hand-painted blackening technique, rather than the usual lacquer-imitating technique of shomen-zuri made by polishing the print from the front with a boar’s tusk. With mica in the darkness of the sky.

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. Paper thinning on white left extra margin only. Untrimmed and unbacked. Dimensions: ôban (37.3 x 25.6 cm)
Publisher: Hiranoya Shinzô 
Signature: Nanajuhassai Toyokuni hitsu (78-year-old Toyokuni)

SKU: KUS644