Utagawa Kunihiro (歌川国広) (artist )

Arashi Rikan II (嵐璃寛) as fisherman (ryōshi) Namishichi (漁師浪七) in the play Hime Kurabe Futaba Ezōshi [Picture-book comparison of twin blades and the princess: 姫競双葉絵草紙]

Print

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Date:01/1833
Dimensions:9.625 in x 14.25 in (Overall dimensions) Medium:Japanese woodblock print
Inscription:

Signed: Kunihiro ga (国廣画)
Publisher: Tenmaya Kihei
(Marks 536 - seal 26-155)
Links Hankyu Culture Foundation
Náprstek Museum
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Description:This image comes from one of the versions of the 'Oguri plays'. According to Osakaprints.com: "In one version of this scene, the fisherman Namishichi, Oguri's former retainer, attempts to hide Princess Terute in his house, but she is abducted by his corrupt brother-in-law and carried away by boat. Namishichi vows to commit seppuku... in exchange for Terute. A river of blood flows from his abdomen and the dragon gods hear his plea, whereupon strong winds blow the princess's boat back to shore. The dying Namishichi and his brother-in-law continue fighting, and the last we see of Namishichi is his lifeless body spread-eagled upside down on the side of a cliff. Afterward, Terute, now a maid for a wealthy rice merchant in Yokoyama (横山), reunites with Oguri, who is in the area searching for a stolen family heirloom."

This print commemorates a performance at the Naka Theater in Osaka in 1833.

There is another print in the Lyon Collection of Namishchi from this same production, but that one is by Hokuei (#1205).

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There are other prints in the Lyon Collection from this play's production in 1833. Two are by Hokuei (#s 1205 and 107).

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Illustrated in Ikeda Bunko, Kamigata yakusha-e shūsei (Collected Kamigata Actor Prints), vol. 2, Ikeda Bunko Library, Osaka, 1998, no. 69.
Related entities Tenmaya Kihei (天満屋喜兵衛) (publisher)
actor prints (yakusha-e - 役者絵) (genre)
Kyōto-Osaka prints (kamigata-e - 上方絵) (genre)
Arashi Rikan II (二代目嵐璃寛: 9/1828 - 6/1837) (actor)
Oguri Hangan (小栗判官) (role)

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