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One Torii Kotondo, 1900-1976In a Long Undergarment (Nagajuban) a beauty with a love tattoo signed Masahiko, hanging scroll, ink and colors on silk painting 10 1/2 by 9 3/8 in. (26.7 by 23.8 cm) overall 57 7/8 by 22 1/2 in. (147 by 57 cm.) detail > > Pledges of devotion in the form of love tattoos (irezumi) were addressed in ukiyo-e of the classic era by artists such as Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806), who approached the subject at least twice. A print from the series depicting pairs of famous lovers featured in legends and suicide-love plays, True Feelings Compared, The Founts of Love: Onitsuta-ya Azamino and Gontaro, a Man of the World (Jitsu kurabe iro no minakami: Onitsuta-ya Azamino, isami-tsu Gontaro), ca. 1798-9, depicts Azamino applying a tattoo, Azamino inochi (Azamino, my life) to the arm of Gontaro, his face contorted in pain as he grips his tobacco pipe. It is likely that Azamino is a courtesan (of the Onitsuta-ya), and poor Gontaro is her secret lover (see Asano and Clark, The Passionate Art of Kitagwa Utamaro, vol. I, no. 306, p. 163, discussed vol. II, p. 198 or The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, at www.mfa.org, 54.1519).  A slightly later series, Eight Vows of Modern Love (Tosei koika hakkei), ca. 1799-1801 (seven prints from the series are found in the collection of the New York Public library), focuses on the ways lovers could demonstrate the depths of their devotion. The concept of love pledges dates back as the Heian era in the form of written vows, however, over time, more elaborate demonstrations of love were established. In 1678, Fujimoto Kizan (1626-1704) published Shikido okagami (Great Mirror of the Erotic Way), in which he listed five acts of self-sacrafice that courtesans could do to express their magokoro ('sincerity' or 'true-heartedness) of their shinju ('inside the heart'). These acts were (in increasing levels of intensity): 1) written love exchanges, 2) cutting off a lock of hair, 3) tattooing a lover's name on the arm or hand, 4) removing a fingernail, and 5) removing a digit of a finger. Thus, although a tattoo is an initially painful and ultimately permanent gesture, there were two far more gruesome 'acts' which a devoted lover could contemplate to placate a demanding lover (see John Fiorillo, Poetry, emotion, and form in Utamaro's Tosei koika hakkei, Andon 52, in September 1995).
In the Tosei koika hakkei series, Utamaro juxtaposes the lovers, and their apparent struggles, against poems from the classic poetry anthology, Hyakunin isshu (One Poem Each, One Hundred Poets). In his compositions, Utamaro applies an updated interpretation of the poem, in some cases depicting examples of those acts of self-sacrafice listed by Kizan. For poem 38, by Lady Ukon, Utamaro depicts a woman preparing to tattoo her lover, who appears uncertain as hold his upper arm protectively. The poem uses the same word, 'inochi' ('life') that was commonly used on love tattoos, as illustrated in Utamaro's print of Azamino and Gontaro described above. Wasuaru ru Mi oba omowazu Chikai teshi Hito no inochi no Oshiki mo aru kana It does not matter That I am now forgotten But making an oath Is the most precious moment In the whole life of a man. Legend has it that Lady Ukon's lover left her, thus this poem has been interpreted as her realization of not only her own loss, but also of the loss of the significance of the memory their oath, which he diminished by breaking his solemn vow. Although the poem does not directly mention one of the shinju (pledges of love), Utamaro cleverly references the 'inochi' from the poem with the unseen 'inochi' that the young woman intends to tattoo on her lover's arm. | |
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