KAKEHASHI AND THE SNAKE CATCHER (Tsukioka Yoshitoshi)

N.1 ukiyo-e woodblock print
Year: 1867
Condition: good
Size: 18 x 25 cm

SOLD

Description

Compelling original woodblock print by the artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡芳年) depicting the female dancer Kakehashi (女田樂桟) who, as we read in the chronicle written in the upper left inset, after having killed a certain Gamanin (我慢院) in a mountain house, fled to Mount Kubo (久保山) where she was rescued by the snake catcher Gamakuro (巴蛇捕蝦蟇九郎), which we see emerging from a gruesome toad-shaped dress while, behind the two, is crawling a huge snake.

The work, taken from the famous series “Sagas of Beauty and Bravery” (美勇水滸伝), was produced in August 1867 by the publisher Omiya Kyujiro (近江屋久次郎), owner of Kiyudo (亀遊堂).

The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), despite the right signs of aging, is in good general condition.