Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)

1786-1865

Actors at the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido: Hiratsuka, Mancho's daughter Okoma
([Yakusha mitate] Tokaido gojusan tsugi no uchi: Hiratsuka, Mancho musume Okoma)

signed Toyokuni ga, carver's seal hori Take, publisher's seal Kichi, Isekane (Iseya Kanekichi), censor seals Mera and Watanabe, and date seal Ni-san (year of the rat [1852], 3rd month)

oban tate-e 14 3/4 by 10 1/4 in., 37.5 by 26 cm

The actor Iwai Kumesaburo III (Iwai Hanshiro VIII, 1829-1882) is in the role of Mancho's daughter Okama from the play Sekai no hana Oguri gaiden (Worldly Flowers, an Oguri Anecdote). Okama is rescued by the warrior Oguri Hangan, in whom she falls in love. Though the relation to Hiratsuka is unknown, a complementary print in the series also set in Hiratsuka featuring the actor Nakayama Ichizo (Nakayama Genjuro, dates unknown) in the role of Ariwara Narihira, based on the ninth century poet, suggests that, perhaps, there is a scene in the play with Okama, Hangan, and the poet at that location.

Reference:
Andreas Marks, Kunisada's Tokaido: Riddles in Japanese Woodblock Prints, 2013, p. 122, cat. T63-08

price: $550