Description
Rare kuchi-e (口絵) woodblock print taken from vol. 10 n. 11 of the famous literary magazine Bungei Kurabu (文芸倶楽部). The work was made in August 1904 by the artist Kobori Tomoto (小堀鞆音) and depicts Shizuka Gozen (静御前), concubine of the samurai Minamoto no Yoshitsune (源義経), while extracting the armor of the famous general from a lacquered wooden box.
Shizuka Gozen (1165 – 1211) was a shirabyoshi (白拍子) court dancer, as well as one of the most famous women in Japanese history and literature. Her story has been extensively represented in the Heike Monogatari (平家物語), in the Gikeiki (義経記) and in other literary works.
The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), produced by the Hakubunkan (博文館) publishing house, despite the right signs of aging including slight fold marks and imperfections on the margins, is in fair condition.
