Utagawa Toyokuni I (初代歌川豊国) (artist 1769 – 02/24/1825)

Iwai Hanshirō V (岩井半四郎), Iwai Kumesaburō II (岩井粂三郎) and Tokiwazu Komojidayū (常盤津小文字太夫) visiting the Sensōji [浅草寺], a temple at Asakusa - center panel of a triptych

Print

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Date:11/1813
Dimensions:10.375 in x 15.375 in (Overall dimensions) Medium:Japanese woodblock print
Inscription:Signed: Toyokuni ga (豊国画)
Publisher: Nishimuraya Yohachi
(Marks 391 - seal 01-008)
Links Waseda University - center panel only, but they have the entire triptych
Art Gallery of South Australia - full triptych
Hankyu Culture Foundation - the center panel only Description:Sensōji (浅草寺) in Asakusa was an important Buddhist temple and since the 18th century for entertainment, too. Nam-lin Hur of the University of British Columbia noted that when Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) took control of the Edo "...[in] the heart of the Kantō region, from the Later Hōjō in 1590, he swifily [sic] selected two religious institutions to protect his family: Zōjōji, in southwestern Edo, as a site to honor his ancestral deities, and Sensōji, in northeastern Edo, as a prayer hall to ensure the prosperity of his family."

Ieyasu had invoked the Kannon deity at Sensōji to protect him and his men before the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, a seminal battle which he won.

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What was special about Sensōji?

Gerald Groemer in his article 'Sacred Dance at Sensōji: The Development of a Tradition' in Asian Ethnology 69, number 2 in 2010 wrote on page 267:

"Unlike most Japanese Buddhist religious institutions the main Sensōji temple derived no income from funerals. Since the five-hundred koku stipend of rice authorized by the Tokugawa bakufu and supplied for the most part by the Sensōji’s three “founding wards” could not adequately support the many sub-temples and shrines that dotted the precincts, ecclesiastical officials tapped other sources of revenue: property rent extracted from shops and booths operating within Sensōji grounds; the sale of talismans and proceeds from temple fairs; and donations by faithful parishioners who came to the Asakusa area to pray and play. One attraction that infallibly drew crowds and reaped significant income for the temple was sacred dance and music. Several minor shrines within Sensōji precincts staged kagura, but by far the most renowned and best attended productions were those sponsored by the Sanja Gongen."

[The choice of bold type is ours.]

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There must have been two different editions of this triptych. In the copy in the Art Gallery of South Australia in Adelaide, in the upper left corner of the right-hand panel, there appears to be a title cartouche - as yet unreadable - enclosed in a large toshidama motif. However, the copy of this triptych in the collection of Waseda University does not have this cartouche at all.

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Tokiwazu is a form of music used to accompany puppet and kabuki plays. This term also came to identify a whole clan of talented performers. The founder of this group was Tokiwazu Mojodayū I (ca. 1709-81). The name Tokiwazu Komojidayū was the name always held before it was changed to Mojodayū.

Since the musical elements were often an essential part of a theater performance it is not surprising that Toyokuni I would have mixed prominent actors with a prominent musician on a day's outing.

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"...tokiwazu music... is more refined in quality and content and relies rather on the voice than the instruments.

Quoted from: The Kabuki Handbook by Aubrey and Giovanna Halford.
Related entities Nishimuraya Yohachi (西村屋与八) (publisher)
actor prints (yakusha-e - 役者絵) (genre)
Iwai Hanshirō V (五代目岩井半四郎: 11/1804-11/1832) (actor)
Iwai Kumesaburō II (二代目岩井粂三郎: from 11/1812 to 10/1832) (actor)

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