Kuniyoshi: Bôtarô and His Nurse (Sold)

Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Title: Bôtarô and His Nurse
Series: Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidô Road
Date: 7/1852

We see the devoted nurse Otsuji, praying against the wind for the fate of the orphaned boy before her, Bôtarô. A kabuki play that is still shown today was made of the story of the boy who avenges his father with the help of his faithful nurse, who even offers her life in return for the boy’s success. Here they are shown in the grounds of a Buddhist temple, the lotus flowers in full bloom behind them. They are also clothed in simple monastic garb. The left cartouche is in the shape of a tengu fan, and we also see a tengu feather-fan in the cartouche surrounding the series title. There is a wonderful diptych by Yoshitoshi of a similar scene.

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition.
Dimensions: ôban
Publisher: Yawataya Sakujirô
Literature: See Sarah Thompson’s “The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidô”, figure 54, page 125.
Seal: kiri
Signature: Ichiyûsai Kuniyoshi ga

SKU: KUY323