SOGA NO JURO SUKENARI (Utagawa Kunisada)

N.1 ukiyo-e woodblock print
Year: 1852
Condition: good
Size: 17,5 x 24,5 cm

SOLD

Description

Refined original woodblock print made in December 1852 by the artist Utagawa Kunisada (歌川国貞) and depicting the actor Ichimura Takenojo V (五代目市村竹之丞), also known by the pseudonym Ichimura Uzaemon XII (十二代目市村羽左衛門), who plays the role of Soga no Juro Sukenari (曾我十郎祐成), that is the eldest of the two young Soga brothers (曾我兄弟) who, after having waited eighteen years, avenged, sacrificing their lives, their father’s death by killing Kudo Suketsune (工藤祐経), a retainer of the shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo (源頼朝).

The work is taken from the series “The Glories of the Provinces of Japan” (国尽倭名誉) and is dedicated to the Izu Province (伊豆国), which was the scene of the aforementioned events. In the upper right corner, a view of Mount Fuji signed by Naniwa Monjin Kichisuke (浪花門人吉助).

The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), produced by the publisher Minatoya Kohei (湊屋小兵衛) and by the engraver Ota Takichi (太田多吉), despite some binding holes and small imperfections on the right margin, is in good condition.