Search Results: Japanese Art from L'Estampe Originale

c.1862. Chûban Triptych. In fine condition with fresh colors. Each print is 241mm x 170mm. An example of a conventional though successful print. Yoshitaki's chûban-size triptych (circa 1860-1864) is well printed with some metallic highlights. It depicts a scene from Tôkaidô Yotsuya kaidan ("Tôkaidô Ghost Story at Yotsuya"), first performed at the Nakamura-za, Edo, in 7/1825. This dramatization was the most famous play written by Tsuruya Nanboku IV (1755-1829), considered the master of the ghost story genre, or kaidanmono. His successes also included plays about outlaw heroes. Tôkaidô Yotsuya kaidan and the pitiful character of Oiwa were very popular subjects in nineteenth century ukiyo-e. Yotsuya Oiwa was married to a dissolute rônin (masterless samurai) named Tamiya Iemon who kills her father. Later Iemon decides to marry a neighbor's daughter, Itô Oume, after he tires of Oiwa. The Itô family provide a "potion" (actually a poison) to ostensibly aid Oiwa in her post-partum… Read More