JAPANESE ART > KUCHI-E WOODBLOCK PRINTS > EXECUTION AT SANJOGAWARA

Lot 00679
N.1 kuchi-e woodblock print

Mizuno Toshikata

EXECUTION AT SANJOGAWARA

Year: 1901
Condition: good
Size: 22 x 30 cm

SOLD

In 1595, Toyotomi Hidetsugu (豊臣秀次), nephew of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉) and regent of the emperor, was accused of plotting a coup and was ordered to commit seppuku (切腹) on Mount Koya (高野山). Daimyo loyal to Hidetsugu were confined, the Jurakudai (聚楽第) palace where he resided was destroyed and his children, wives and mistresses were executed at Sanjogawara (三条河原), on the banks of the Kamo river (鴨川), in Kyoto.

This touching kuchi-e (口絵) woodblock print, depicting one of the victims praying before the execution, was printed as the frontispiece of the novel Jurakuden (聚楽殿) by the writer Tsukahara Jushien (塚原渋柿園), published in vol. 7 n. 6 of the famous literary magazine Bungei Kurabu (文芸倶楽部).

The work, produced in May 1901 by the Hakubunkan (博文館) publishing house, despite the right signs of aging, is in good condition.

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