Kuniyoshi: Station Motoyama 本山; Yamauba 山姥

Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861)
Title: Station Motoyama 本山; Yamauba 山姥
Series: Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidô Road  木曾街道六十九次之内
Date: 7/1852

Yamauba, the wild woman of the mountain, here dressed for a role in a Nôh play named after her, descends from a magical cloud in a remote mountain landscape, her fan aloft.. The cloud is printed with lead pigment, lending it a ghostly effect. Her pristine white face stands out amidst the dark and austere landscape. The lack of background details would be in keeping with the treatment of the staging of a Noh play. Yamauba is also known as the Mountain Witch, and she was often depicted by ukiyo-e artists, most famously Utamaro, as an alluring beauty with disheveled hair. Ivy leaves frame the inset cartouche and also appear on her lavish costume. With deluxe mica added to the sky and cloud.

Condition: Excellent impression and color. Very good condition. Binding holes at left.
Dimensions: ôban 36 x 24.5 cm
Publisher: Yawataya Sakujirô
Literature: See Sarah Thompson’s “The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidô”, figure 33, page 82. See MFA. Robinson S74.34.
Seal: kiri
Signature: Ichiyûsai Kuniyoshi ga

SKU: KUY570