JAPANESE PRINTS
A MILLION QUESTIONS
TWO MILLION MYSTERIES
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Ukiyo-e Prints 浮世絵版画 |
| Port Townsend, Washington |
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UTAGAWA TOYOKUNI III
うたがわ(目).とよくに.さんだい 1786-1865 |
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PLAY: Jitsugetsusei chuuya no oriwake 日月星昼夜織分 じつげつせいちゅうやのおりわけ |
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ACTOR: Ichikawa Kodanji IV 市川小団次 いちかわ.こだんじ (This actor was known for his 'flying' stunts.) |
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ROLE: "The Night-crawling Star" 夜這星 よばいぼし Yobai Boshi |
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DATE: 1859, 9th Month, 23rd Day 安政 6 年 Ansei 6 |
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CARVER: Hori Ken 彫兼 ほり.けん |
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PUBLISHER: Ki-ya Sojiro 木屋宗次郎 きやそうじろう |
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SIZE: 14 1/8" X 9 3/4" |
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This is the right hand panel of a triptych. |
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$145.00 |
三代目
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Once again I owe an incredible debt to A. K. who is one of our most esteemed contributors. A considerable amount of the information provided above was added due to his efforts. We checked his material and yep! he is correct or as correct as two Westerners can hope to be who are simply lovers of Japanese woodblock prints. A. K. is more assiduous when it comes to facts. I am freer with expressing my opinions. A. K. makes that easier for me, but I am the one to blame in the end for mistakes or if you differ. THANKS A. K.! |
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(At this point these comments are partially conjectural.)
This may be from a comic interlude during a performance of the Kanadehon Chushingura (仮名手本忠臣蔵 or かなでほん.ちゅうしんぐら). The fellow with the "star" on his head may actually represent a star and be a part of the Tanabata (七夕 or たなばた) Festival or Star Festival --- also known as the Festival of the Weaver. |
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Above is a detail of a star-headed figure from a print by Kuniyoshi. |
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NAUGHTY! NAUGHTY! |
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Of course I have no way on knowing for sure, but I would be willing to bet that almost every language has its own hidden sexual puns and allusions. We noted this on another page portraying a kabuki actor posed before a portable stand selling nihachi noodles. (Click on the image below to go to that page and read about the sexual allusion between noodles and having sex with a purportedly sixteen year old girl.) Recently I was listening to an interview on NPR with an expert in the classical languages. She stated confidently that there would be many more students of Latin if they knew how bawdy the ancient texts could be. Japanese I am sure is no different. The term yobai (夜這い or よばい) means "night crawling" as in "night crawling star". James Brandon in Kabuki: Five Classic Plays in the section on "Sukeroku: Flower of Edo" (U. of Hawaii Press, 1992 reprint, p. 86, note 22) notes that yobai can mean either "secretly slipping in to see a girl at night" or "falling star". |
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Our contributor A.K. brought this to our attention, but we are just getting around to mentioning it. |
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CARVER: Hori Ken |
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DATE SEAL: 1859 |
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PUBLISHER: Kiyasojiro |
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FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT AND PICTURES OF ICHIKAWA KODANJI IV GO TO THE BEST KABUKI SITE ON THE INTERNET!
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Above is a detail from one of the prints portraying Kodanji IV which you can find at (I chose it because of the unusual headpiece and its similarity to our print.) |
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