JAPANESE ART > UKIYO-E WOODBLOCK PRINTS > THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OSHICHI

Lot 00459
N.1 ukiyo-e woodblock print

Utagawa Kunisada

THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OSHICHI

Year: 1851
Condition: very good
Size: 25 x 36 cm

SOLD

Precious original woodblock print made in May 1851 by the artist Utagawa Kunisada (歌川国貞) and inspired by the dramatic story of Yaoya Oshichi (八百屋お七), a fifteen-year-old girl who, in 1682, set a fire in her parents' house and that was therefore burned at the stake by order of a magistrate who, in an extreme attempt to save her, tried unsuccessfully to make her confess her minor age.

There are several versions of the history of Oshichi, which have inspired numerous representations and stories. The print presented here was made for the presentation of the kabuki play "Koi Moyo Furisode Meoto" (恋模様振袖妹背), at the Ichimura-za (市村座) theater in Tokyo, and depicts the scene of the transfiguration of the protagonist , played by the actor Bando Shuka I (初代坂東しうか), above the beloved Kosho Kichiza (小性吉三), played by actor Ichikawa Danjuro VIII (八代目市川団十郎).

The work, printed by the publisher Enshuya Hikobei (遠州屋彦兵衛), despite the right patina of the time, is in very good general condition.

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