Iwai Shijaku [I] as Kohina (left half of a diptych with 2003/1.420.2)
Utagawa Kunisada
Description
Subject Matter:
This play is one of the many variations of the story of the Soga brothers, one of the most popular revenge stories of the Edo period. The story is based on a late Kamakura period (1185-1333) book, Soga monogatari that tells the tale of two brothers, Jūrō and Gorō, who take revenge for their father on Kudō Suketsune in 1193. The brothers were executed, and it is thought that the story may have been written to pacify their spirits.
Actor Iwai Shijaku I, also known as Iwai Hanshirō VII, was the oldest son of Iwai Hanshirō V. He was born in 1804 and died in 1845.
Physical Description:
The woman in this image stands in front of a long red bench. She wears a colourful robe with a black top and tall sandals. Her hair is elaborately decorated. A flowering tree is visible behind her in front of the blue sky.
Inscriptions: Artist Signature: Kunisada ga; Publisher’s seal: Kyū ; Censor’s seal: kiwame; Kohina, Iwai Shijaku
This is the left panel of a triptych (the right panel, 2003/1.420.2).
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