Hiroshige III: Rice Inflation Satire: Picture of Tug of War with a Personified Bale of Rice
Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige III (1843-1894)
Title: Rice Inflation Satire: Picture of Tug of War with a Personified Bale of Rice (Kome-dawara tsuna-hiki no zu米俵綱引の図)
Date: Delivered on 10th May 1880 (明治13年5月10日お届け)
Interesting satirical triptych that somehow feels relevant 150 years later in regards to inflation and export politics. We see a scene of a struggle over a man with the head of a straw rice bale between merchants and working class Japanese citizens. On the top of the hill, we see the messengers of the founding Goddess of Japan, Amaterasu-Ômikami, and on the right corner is a group of important looking officials, a Chinese man standing in the back. The straw-rice-bale-man says “Some want me to go down, and others want me to go up. I don’t care much which way. It’s a bit confusing!”
The people pulling down are handworkers, rickshaw men, merchants, geisha, and steeplejacks as well as women homemakers. To the right is a fireman tying on a head wrap, his tool resting on his shoulder. According to the text, they are all complaining of the rising price of rice due to buy-ups by merchants, whose goal is to sell/export with a higher price.
Next to the pine tree of “Tôhoku Shimo-ga-matsu 東北の下が松”＊ a man with a top hat waves a flag with stylized character “Rice 米”. He says “35,000,000 people (Japanese population at the time) earned it! Pull down!”
On the other side, indicated by a sign in yellow upper left, “Cunning Merchants (San-shô-kan 山商奸)”**on the hillside, well-dressed merchants/export business men are cheering themselves to “pull up”, hinting also to pull up the price.
Above them are four heavenly messengers flying on clouds with bachi, the plectrum of shamisen, in their hands. “Bachi” also means “punishment”. Here the messengers are saying “You will be punished if you pull up (the price) so much”. They seem to be beating down the merchants with their giant plectrum as weapons. This is a charming visualization of the issues surrounding export policies and inflation and public opinion.
On the opposite side of the lake there is a sign in yellow reading ”Mountain Pass of Slyness’ (kôkatsu-tôge狡猾峠).
*“Tôhoku Shimo-ga-matsu 東北の下が松”: Tohoku, Northeast Japan is considered as a granary of Japan, especially with the rice-producing region consisting of six prefecutures: Akita, Aomori, Miyagi, Yamagata, Fukushima, and Iwate. In Yamagata Pref. there is a pine tree called Shimo-ga-matsu, where a writer Takayama Chogyû of Yamagata Pref. lamented his unrequited love under a pine tree. As a result this expression is used for a wish which cannot be realized. However, the translator is unsure if this was the connection in this print.
**“Cunning Merchants (San-shô-kan 山商奸)” refers to, perhaps, Chinese merchants of Shanxi 山西 Region, who had a reputation for being cunning and rather merciless but successful merchants.The writing is very similar. It is also interesting to note that the price of this print is given in the left bottom, in yellow: Price 6 sen (atai 6 sen 價六銭). (With thanks to Michiko Sato-Grube for her above research.)
Dimensions: 35.4 x 72 cm
Condition: Excellent color; very good impression and condition. Lightly backed, with a fold near the edge of two of the sheets. Signature: Hiroshige ga廣重画 and Andô Tokubei at Minami Konya-cho 27.画工 南紺屋町廿七 安藤德兵衛
SKU: HRS012