Toyokawa Hidekuni (豊川英国) (artist )
Arashi Kichisaburō II (嵐吉三郎) as Tsukimoto Hajimenosuke (月本始之助)
05/1827
10.375 in x 14.75 in (Overall dimensions) Signed: Toyokawa Hidekuni ga
豊川英国画
Publisher: Iden (Izutsuya Denbei)
(Marks 186 - seal 07-030)
British Museum - ca. 1825 print by Ashiyuki of the same character
Ritsumeikan University - anonymous 1821 image of Tsukimoto Hajimenosuke
Ritsumeikan University - black and white reproduction
Lyon Collection - another copy of this print
Lyon Collection - a Kunihiro triptych with Arashi Kichisaburō II in the role of the farmer Jusaku in this same play Arashi Kichisaburō II plays two different characters in this play. One is the figure you will see here and other is the farmer Jusaku. Fortunately, the Lyon Collection has a triptych by Kunihiro in which the farmer is shown center stage. (See the link above.)
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Background
The plot of the kabuki play Keisei kakehashi monogatari (Story of a courtesan and a bridge over the gorge: けいせい棧物語) appears not to have survived. It was performed at the Naka no Shibai in Osaka.
Arashi Kitsusaburō II later used the stage name Rikan II.
Design
Kitsusaburō II performed two roles in this production, as Tsukimoto Hajimenosuke (月本始之助) shown here, and as Hyakusei Jūsaku (百姓十作).
The poem is signed by Kiyokuni, probably a member of the Jukōdō poetry circle and a pupil of Yoshikuni. The imagery used in the poem includes references to the tachibana (orange blossom: 橘), the crest (mon: 紋) of the actor Kitsusaburō (who also used the name Rikan II).
References: Osaka Prints by Dean Schwaab, no. 107; Kabuki nenpyōvol. 6, p. 156
This may be the only known print by this artist.
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On the sleeve of Tsukimoto Hajimenosuke is the Arashi crest of a triple tachibana or mandarin oranges.
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Illustrated:
1) in black and white in Ukiyo-e Masterpieces in European Collection 5: Victoria and Albert Museum II, Kodansha, 1989, page 192, #96.
2) in color in Schätze der Kamigata: Japanische Farbholzschnitte aus Osaka 1780-1880, MNHA (Musée national d'histoire et d'art Luxembourg), 2012, p. 234, #502. Part of the accompanying text reads:
"Des Gedicht von Kiyokuni - wie Hidekuni ein Schüler des Yoshikuni - lautet "Suzushiya ya Tachibana no Ka no Dokomademo" (Köstlich ist der Duft der Orangeblüten, verbreitet von kühlen Wind des Abends)"
The translation reads: "The poem by Kiyokuni - like Hidekuni a student of Yoshikuni - is "Suzushiya ya Tachibana no Ka no Dokomademo" (Delicious is the scent of orange blossoms, spread by the cool wind of the evening)"
3) in color in Osaka Prints by Dean J. Schwaab, Rizzoli, 1989, page 126, no. 107. The accompanying text reads:
"This seems to be the only composition known by this artist, and several impressions have appeared. The poem, by fellow Jukōdō-circle member Kiyokuni, speaks of the fragrance of the orange blossom (Kitsusaburō's crest) carried by the cool evening air. Note that the artist uses the forename Toyokawa, in line with his master Yoshikuni."
actor prints (yakusha-e - 役者絵) (genre)
Kyōto-Osaka prints (kamigata-e - 上方絵) (genre)
Izutsuya Denbei (井筒屋伝兵衞) (publisher)
Arashi Kitsusaburō II 二代目嵐橘三郎 (9/1822 to 8/1828) (actor)