Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳) (artist 11/15/1797 – 03/05/1861)

Sawamura Sōjūrō V [五代目沢村宗十郎] as Yorikane (頼兼) slaying his lover, the courtesan Takao (高尾), played by Bandō Shūka I [初代坂東しうか] - the center and left panels of a triptych

Print

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Date:05/16/1847
Dimensions:30.125 in x 15 in (Overall dimensions) Medium:color woodblock print
Inscription:Signed: Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi ga
一勇斎国芳画
Artistls seal: kiri
Publisher: Enshūya Matabei
(Marks 057 - seal 01-031)
Censors seals: Mera and Murata
Links Waseda University - left panel
Waseda University - right panel
National Museums Scotland - left-hand panel
National Museums Scotland - right-hand panel
Lyon Collection - another copy of the right-hand panel Description:Takao is as famous a name of a courtesan as one could come across anywhere in Japanese history and culture. The first woman who was given the name Takao in the 17th century lived and practiced her art in Kyoto and was so renowned that by the middle of the 19th century there had been 10 other woman upon whom that name had been bestowed. Kyoto was known for its maple leaves and especially their display in fall when they would turn to a luscious red. It was the maple leaf motif that became synonymous with the images of Takao. It was her easy to spot identifier, her crest so to speak, as seen here in the Eisen kakemono with a maple leaf carved as part of this oriran's hairpin. Elsewhere maple leaves show up as part of the pattern on her robes. Whether it was her, as a much desired prostitute, or as the fictionalized lover of Yorikane, daimyō of Ōshu, in the kabuki theater, they were all based on the same real life woman who knew best how to please men.

The fictionalized Takao was based on the real life of Takao II

Sarah E. Thompson in her Utagawa Kuniyoshi: The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidō she wrote on page 28 about the mythification of the very human woman named Takao:

"According to an urban legend incorporated into the kabuki play The Precious Incense and the Bush Clover of Sendai (Meiboku Sendai hagi), the contract of the second Takao was purchased for her weight in gold by the lord called Ashikaga Yorikane in the play (representing the seventeenth-century historical figure Date Tsunamune...). In the print [the one illustrated on page 29], Takao rises slowly into the air as the side of a giant scale is heaped with gold. The two people staring in awe are probably the brothel owner and manager, who in one version of the story put lead weights into Takao's clothing to increase her price. The first part of the place-name Ageo means "to raise," and the last part is the same as the last part of Takao's name. Takao's personal crest, a maple leaf, decorates her hairpins, and maple leaves form both the series title border and the outline of the inset landscape." [See the jpeg of this print that we added below the main image on this page.]

From fact to fiction

Cecilia Segawa Seigle in her Yoshiwara: The Glittering World of the Japanese Courtesan gives us an account on pages 59 to 61, part real and part apocryphal, of the life of Takao II in the middle of the 17th century.

Daimyō, who were often stuck in dull and lifeless marriages made for political reasons, were known to visit the pleasure quarters where they could afford the company and services of the most desirably seductive, elegant and educated courtesans. Because daimyō were often needed on a moments notice, their rank was banned from visiting the Yoshiwara in 1693 and again in 1735. However, these prohibitions were rarely effective. It is from this kind of visit from which the fictionalized story of Yorikane and Takao sprang.

"Among daimyō whose names were connected with the Yoshiwara, Lord Date Tsunamune stands out prominently. He is known as a patron of the celebrated courtesan Takao II of the Great Miura. Takao posthumously became the most renowned name in the Yoshiwara because of the romantic and violent Date legend, and because her professional name was a myōseki (an inherited name) of the Great Miura, the largest house in the early days of the Yoshiwara. There are mentions in records of eleven courtesans name Takao. Contemporary writers indicate that Takao II died of illness in 1659. Yet more than half a century later, she became an important figure in kabuki plays, songs, and novels, as the heroine of a fabricated tragedy."

"According to the tale woven out of facts and fiction, Date Tsunamune, lord of the rich province of Mutsu, was twenty when his first son was born. His uncle, Date Munekatsu, however, wanted to retire the young man so that his own son could become head of the Date clan. Thus the uncle conspired with the head of Date's Edo mansion to undermine the young lord's reputation. Together they instructed their retaines in Edo to persuade him to visit the Yoshiwara. The retainers introduced the leading courtesan of the day, Takao II, to the young Tsunamune, who fell passionately in love with her."

"At the time of their introduction, Takao had a lover, a rōnin with whom she had pledged marriage following her contract term with the Great Miura. Although Tsunamune was ardent was insistent, Takao continued to reject him. Finally he decided to buy her freedom and bring her to his Edo mansion. Tsunamune offered to pay the Great Miura in gold equal to Takao's weight. The story states that, to inflate the price, the proprietor placed iron weights in the courtesan's sleeves. He then claimed from Lord Tsunamune the augmented equivalent in gold, more than 165 pounds."

"Takao was led from the Great Gate of the Yoshiwara at night and placed aboard a boat, which came down the San'ya canal to the Sumida River. Although the mood on the boat was festive, Takao was withdrawn. She wished either to be released or to die. When the boat reached a point on the river called Mitsumata (Three Forks), when tried to throw herself into the river. Furious, Tsunamune grasped her topknot, pulled her down to the bottom of the boat, and plunged his sword into her heart. He threw her body into the water and continued the boat ride to his home. His uncle and other conspirators seized this opportunity to accuse him of wanton behavior and force his retirement. The uncle named Tsunamune's infant son the head of the Date clan, and then tried to murder the infant. A loyal old chamberlain went to Edo and appealed to the shogun to investigate the villainous relatives of Lord Tsunamune. As soon as the bakufu discovered the plot of the disputed family inheritance, the perpetrators were brought to justice and found guilty, and the rights of Tsunamune's son were preserved. Tsunamune himself remained in retirement and later became a monk."

Seigle points out that some of the elements of the kabuki plays about these figures was true. Tsunamune did chase after Takao, but he was not responsible for her death. "Takao might have been lukewarm toward Tsunamune, but that she had a lover is mere speculation." The real Takao was said to have died of 'consumption', either tuberculosis or pneumonia, on December 5, 1659.

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The majority of traditional Japanese prints can be read by the motifs and writing which they display. A familiarity with kanji enables the viewer to read the signatures and often the names of the actors. Their names of the roles often appear written in katakana characters. Those are the basics, but a knowledge of motifs is important too. Each of these elements gives us the clues that help us to understand these images.

Takao, the female role, is often accompanied by autumn leaves, but there are none here. Yorikane, the male role, is often wearing robes designed with stylized sparrows among bamboo shoots - or they can be found nearby. In the case of this diptych the sparrows and bamboo motif appears on the roles of both the these characters. This is unusual. The fact that Takao is wearing a robe with this motif strengthens the argument that Takao was Yorikane's woman.

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B.W. Robinson was a trailblazer, but not always right -

The courtesan Takao (高尾), played by Iwai Kumesaburō III (岩井粂三郎), being yanked by her hair by her lover Yorikane who is about to slay her - this is the right panel of a diptych.

Ex collection B. W. Robinson.

Robinson identified this actor as Iwai Kumesaburō III, but both Waseda University and the Museums of Scotland say it was Bandō Shūka I.

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This is from a performance at the Nakamura theater in 5/1847. The play may be Date zensei sakura no iromaku (伊達旭盛桜彩幕), which is one of the plays associated with Meiboku Sendai hagi (伽羅先代萩).

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The Takao/Yorikane plays were actually loosely based on true historical events "...related to the succession disputes within the Date clan in Sendai in the 1660s. The legitimacy of the daimyo Date Tsunamune and his heirs was challenged when it was disclosed that Tsunamune was enamored of the famous courtesan Takao II of the Great Miura bordello (the legend that inspired the kabuki play was a colorful mix of fact and fiction)."

Quoted from: "Wild Boars and Dirty Rats: Kyōka Surimono Celebrating Ichikawa Danjūrō VII as Arajishi Otokonosuke" by John T. Carpenter, Impressions, no. 28, 2006-2007, p. 47.

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Osaka Prints gave this summary of the play Meiboku Sendai Hagi (伽藍先代萩):

"Meiboku sendai hagi (Sandalwood and bush clover of Sendai: 伽羅先代萩) dramatized the intrigues over succession within the Date clan of Sendai during the third quarter of the seventeenth century. It was performed in an alternate sekai ("world" or theatrical setting: 世界), set back in time during the Onin civil war under the Ashikaga shogunate of the fifteenth century (Ashikaga thus becomes a theatrical substitute for the Date clan name). It is a classic play, so popular that during the Edo period it had at least one performance nearly every year since its premiere in 1777. The fictionalized central story involved Lord Ashikaga Yorikane's forays into the pleasure quarter and his murder of the courtesan Takao (高尾). This episode is an amplification of an actual incident in which the twenty-one-year-old clan leader Date Tsunamune became the lover of the Yoshiwara courtesan Takao, causing a scandal that led to his downfall. Another story line involves Nikki Danjô (Yorikane's evil nephew), the orchestrator of a conspiracy to overthrow Yorikane. The intrigue failed, however, and Nikki was slain."
Related entities actor prints (yakusha-e - 役者絵) (genre)
Enshūya Matabei (遠州屋又兵衛) (publisher)
Ashikaga Yorikane (足利頼兼) (role)
Bandō Shūka I (初代坂東しうか: from 11/1839 to 11/1854) (actor)
Sawamura Sōjūrō V (五代目沢村宗十郎: from 7/1844 to 10/1848) (actor)
mitate-e (見立て絵) (genre)
Meiboku Sendai Hagi (伽藍先代萩) (kabuki)

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