• Fujikawa Tomokichi II (藤川友吉) as the courtesan Aoyagi-dayū (青柳大夫) on the right and Nakamura Utaemon III (中村歌右衛門) as the farmer (<i>hyakushō</i>) Jūsaku (百姓重作) from the play <i>Tenmangō aiju no meiboku</i> [天満宮花梅桜松]
Fujikawa Tomokichi II (藤川友吉) as the courtesan Aoyagi-dayū (青柳大夫) on the right and Nakamura Utaemon III (中村歌右衛門) as the farmer (<i>hyakushō</i>) Jūsaku (百姓重作) from the play <i>Tenmangō aiju no meiboku</i> [天満宮花梅桜松]
Fujikawa Tomokichi II (藤川友吉) as the courtesan Aoyagi-dayū (青柳大夫) on the right and Nakamura Utaemon III (中村歌右衛門) as the farmer (<i>hyakushō</i>) Jūsaku (百姓重作) from the play <i>Tenmangō aiju no meiboku</i> [天満宮花梅桜松]
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Gigadō Ashiyuki (戯画堂芦ゆき) (artist )

Fujikawa Tomokichi II (藤川友吉) as the courtesan Aoyagi-dayū (青柳大夫) on the right and Nakamura Utaemon III (中村歌右衛門) as the farmer (hyakushō) Jūsaku (百姓重作) from the play Tenmangō aiju no meiboku [天満宮花梅桜松]

Print

01/1828
10 in x 15 in (Overall dimensions) color woodblock print
Signed: Gigadō Ashiyuki ga
戲画堂芦幸画
Publisher: Wataya Kihei (Marks 579 - seal 25-056)
British Museum
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Lyon Collection - a Kunihiro triptych with the figure of the farmer Jūsaku in the center panel
Tokyo Fuji Museum of Art Even if the lovely yellow background that dominates both sheets weren't enough, the costumes of both characters are remarkably striking. Despite the fact that Utaemon is identified as a farmer here, he must be a fabulously successful peasant: his robes are decorated with a beautiful pattern of sparrows flying among snow-covered bamboo plants. In fact, the elegance of his clothes may indicate that he is a powerful or wealthy individual trying to disguise himself as a peasant. This trope was commonly used in the kabuki theater.

The courtesans robes are equally riotous filled with flowers, butterflies and repetitive patterns. There is also a stylized tree which at first appears to be just an abstraction, but look more closely.

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The sparrow and bamboo motif has a special name, takesuzume (竹雀), and has been used on the robes of various characters. The main one is Ashikaga Yorikane (足利頼兼), not usually a common farmer like Jūsaku.

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Illustrated in black and white in Ukiyo-e Masterpieces in European Collections: British Museum III, supervised by Muneshige Narazaki, Kodansha Ltd, 1988, #70, p. 186.
Kyōto-Osaka prints (kamigata-e - 上方絵) (genre)
actor prints (yakusha-e - 役者絵) (genre)
Fujikawa Tomokichi II (二代目藤川友吉: from 1/1810 to 12/1812 and again from 11/1813 to 10/1815 and again from 11/1819 to 7/1833) (actor)
Wataya Kihei (綿屋喜兵衛) (publisher)
Nakamura Utaemon III (三代目中村歌右衛門) (actor)
Tenmangō aiju no meiboku (天満宮花梅桜松) (kabuki)