Kunisada: Soma Yoshikado with Magical Frog on his Head (Sold)
Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865)
Title: Nakamura Shikan IV as Soma Yoshikado 内神田相馬の良門 中村芝翫
Series: Edo no hana meisho-e (Flowers of Edo and Views of Famous Places)江戸の花名勝会 Date: 1863
This is from the Yo Brigade, First Group; the place of Uchi Kanda. We see the actor Nakamura Shikan IV as Soma no Yoshikado. Yoshikado obviously is skilled in frog magic, as here he holds a kabuki pose, making a secret mudra with his hands while a very large frog atop his head emits a magical beam from its mouth. This might be Princess Takiyasha who rides the magical beam on the left. She floats above a townscape by Hiroshige II; above is a warlord from the play that was designed by Kunisada II.
The term “Flowers of Edo” (Edo no hana) here refers to the terrible and common occurrence of fires, for which there were many fire brigades active throughout the city. The title panel shows the lanterns and identifying standard (matoi) for the brigade of firefighters (hikeshi) assigned to this district. The title gives the name or number of a brigade, its group, and its district, followed by the kabuki scene chosen to match it. 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. Other artists who participated in this design: Hasegawa Settei (Japanese, 1813 – 1882) and Kakuju-jo (Japanese, active 1860s)
Condition: Excellent impression and color; very good condition. Tiny spot on right margin. Dimensions: ôban (35.3 x 24.3 cm)
Publisher: Katôya Iwazoô (Seibei)
Literature: See MFA website and FAMSF, Waseda University websites. A reference book has been privately published by Simon Henry that examines this entire series.
Signature: Toyokuni ga
SKU: KUS569