Kunisada: Beauty Holding Cat; Bando Mitsugoro VI as Okoma

Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865)
Title: Ha Brigade, First Group, Suginomori: Actor Bandô Mitsugorô VI as Shirokiya Okoma 「白木やおこま　坂東三津五郎」（六代目）

Series: Edo no hana meisho-e (Flowers of Edo and Views of Famous Places)江戸の花名勝会  Date: 1863

We see a young beauty with a checked kimono hugging a cat close to her. The role of Okoma is from the play Koi Musume Mukashi Hachijo; she is a main character who is falsely accused of murder whose family are timber merchants. She looks to the left, and we see a rooster atop a torii in a panel by Asai Osui. Above, we see planks of wood, one being sawed thin, for a factory that makes wooden geta clogs. This upper image of a lumber yard at Shiraki Village is by Utagawa Sadahide.

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.

Condition: Very good impression, color and condition. 
Dimensions: ôban (35 x 24.5 cm)
Publisher: Katôya Iwazoô (Seibei)
Literature: See MFA website and FAMSF, Waseda University websites.  
Signature: Toyokuni ga

SKU: KUS601