• 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>Tenmangū 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>Tenmangū 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>Tenmangū 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 Tenmangū 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
Victoria and Albert Museum - left-hand panel only The 'Tenmangū' (天満宮) of the title refers to the shrine(s) dedicated to the spirit of Sugawara no Michizane (菅原道真: 845-903), the deity of learning and scholarship and the god of thunder. According to Osaka Prints, cited elsewhere, the courtesan Aoyagi is actually Michizane's adopted daughter Kōbai-hime (紅梅姫).

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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)
Tenmangū aiju no meiboku (天満宮花梅桜松) (kabuki)