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A View of Act Nine from "Storehouse of Loyal Retainers", from the series Perspective Pictures

A View of Act Nine from "Storehouse of Loyal Retainers", from the series Perspective Pictures

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Utagawa Toyokuni

Part nine of the full-length drama Copy Book of the Storehouse of Loyal Retainers was developed as its own contained play and is usually staged independently. The tale of vengeance follows the samurai Oboshi Yuranosuke, who was the chief retainer of the late En’ya Hangan and leader of the vendetta against villainous Morono. In this scene, the samurai Kakogawa Honzo appears at the front gate in the guise of a traveling priest playing the shakuhachi flute to subsequently halt the planned murder inside. Following the success of his teacher Toyoharu, Toyokuni designed many perspective pictures. In this print, rendered in a style similar to many of Toyoharu’s compositions, the grounds of the retainer Oboshi Yuranosuke include an open floor plan with long architectural lines to create a dramatic sense of spatial depth.
Artist
Utagawa Toyokuni
(Japanese, 1769 - 1825)
Title
A View of Act Nine from "Storehouse of Loyal Retainers", from the series Perspective Pictures
Date
ca. 1790
Medium
Color woodcut
Dimensions
210 x 297 mm Overall
Credit
Bequest of John H. Van Vleck
Accession No.
1980.3142
Classification
Prints
Geography
Japan

Related

By 1925, purchased in Japan by Frank Lloyd Wright; ca. 1926, acquired by The Bank of Wisconsin; 1928, sold to Edward Burr Van Vleck (Madison, WI); 1943, passed through inheritance to Edward’s son, John H. Van Vleck (Madison, WI); 9 January 1980, bequeathed by John H. Van Vleck to the Elvehjem Museum of Art [now called Chazen Museum of Art]

  • Mueller, Laura. "Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School." Leiden, The Netherlands: Hotei Publishing, 2007. p. 92, no. 49

  • Utagawa: Masters of the Japanese Print, 1770-1900 : Chazen Museum of Art, 3/21/2008–6/15/2008
  • Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School: Chazen Museum of Art, 11/3/2007–1/6/2008
  • Chushingura, Storehouse of Loyal Retainers: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 6/1/1991–8/11/1991

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