Description
Original woodblock print made by the artist Utagawa Kunisada (歌川国貞) and depicting the actor Onoe Baiko IV (四代尾上梅幸) in the role of Otani (お谷), the wife of the sword master Karaki Masaemon (唐木政右衛門) who, as part of a complex story of honor and revenge, will divorce the woman here portrayed while wandering in the snow wearing a straw cape.
The work, entitled “Masaemon’s Wife Otani” (まさ右衛もん女房おたに), is taken from the series “The Glories of the Provinces of Japan” (国尽倭名誉) and is dedicated to the Mikawa Province (三河国). The inset depicting Masaemon was made by the artist Gochotei Sadamasu (五蝶亭貞升) who signs himself “Naniwa Kunimasu” (浪花国升).
The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), produced in April 1852 by the publisher Minatoya Kohei (湊屋小兵衛) and by the carver Ota Takichi (太田多吉), despite the right signs of aging and the presence of binding holes, slight stains and a further tiny hole in the lower left corner, is in overall good condition.
