I think it was an inside joke which Kuniyoshi's audience would have gotten.

Last October 19th a fellow named Stephen wrote to draw my attention to the fact that there is an irony about a crying cat being portrayed in a memorial print which has an obvious Buddhist connection. (Today is March 5, 2007.) Before his e-mail I hadn't even thought about the cat as being anything other than an artistic device. But Stephen noted that according to some legends the cat was the only creature which failed to mourn the death of the historic Buddha. This is confirmed by Robert Schaap in his catalogue entry #47 to Heroes and Ghosts: Japanese Prints by Kuniyoshi 1797-1861 (Hotei Publishing, Leiden, 1998, p. 72):

"Despite Kuniyoshi's love of cats, these creatures invariably play a very negative role in Japanese ghost stories. One reason that cats may have been held in such low esteem might be that in some versions recounting the death of the Buddha, they appear as the only animal not to weep."

That is what I am sure prompted Stephen's astute statement: "I think it was an inside joke which Kuniyoshis [sic] audience would have gotten." Thanks Stephen!

[See the sections below for further comments on this and a detailed close up of the despairing feline.]

FRESH THOUGHTS ABOUT

AN OLD SUICIDE

(POSTED JULY 12,2005)

Many misconceptions grow up about the death of idols. Rarely do we know the truth or what passes for it. Even those closest to the deceased are often deluded and can be regarded as being just as accurate as the witnesses to a crime or accident. Generally no two accounts are exactly the same let alone correct. Normally they only give us an approximation of 'the truth'. However, therein lies the job of the great detective/historian. What we know now may not be the same as what we know in the future.

Such is the case regarding our knowledge of the death of Danjuro VIII. Forget what you have already read --- or at least set it aside for comparison with what we know now.

I. Danjūrō did not slit his wrists or commit seppuku as it is pictured in certain contemporary prints. In fact, he cut his own throat. Seppuku might have been more honorable in the thinking of the times, but that is not how it happened.

II. He committed suicide on the morning of the opening of a new play he was to act in in Osaka and not several days later as has been reported.

III. His extremely lavish lifestyle may have caused him financial strains, but most likely was not the last straw which caused his death. On the other hand, the complex relationship between him and his father may have been more relevant. Also, there is a distinct possibility that he was a manic-depressive or bi-polar personality. Now, I know, there is a risk of going too far in psychoanalyzing someone who committed suicide more than a hundred fifty years ago, but new scholarship seems to be pointing in that direction.

NEW INFORMATION PROVIDED

ON MEMORIAL PRINTS

ADDED ON JUNE 17, 2005

In an e-mail correspondence I had in late May 2005 with an expert on Japanese theater and language I was informed that it was generally a standard practice for shini-e, memorial death prints, to omit the names of the artists who created them or the publishers who released them. That would explain why so many shini-e are unattributed. He added that "There are just occasional exceptions to this rule."

The print shown on this page lacks both an artist's signature and publisher's mark. However, in the e-mail it was pointed out that "Experts are able to determine artists [and] artists' studios by visual evidence--quirks in portraiture, the presence of a cat, etc." Perhaps that explains the frequent assignation of this print to Kuniyoshi in Japanese books and catalogues.

On the other hand,  what would appear most commonly on such prints were the actor's most recent stage name along with his posthumous Buddhist name or hōmyō (法名 or ほうみょう) and sometimes his poetic name. This really explains a great deal about this unusual category of ukiyo-e. At least, for me it does.