08/30/2023
Hi friends. It’s so funny that, the first post here is not about a book.
Today i will talk about a woodblock painting.
It is a triptych by Utagawa Kunisada 歌川 国貞. (also as Toyokuni III). Not the most famous Utagawa, but it’s a good artist with many great art works. I believe this painting was printed between 1844-1862.
I was very interested in why the artist put Masamune and Kunitoshi together, so I did some search about this story and found it's very interesting. (Masanume and Kunitoshi are two famous swordsmiths in Japanese history.)
The painting is from a scene in the Kabuki performance新薄雪物語 (Shin Usuyuki Monogatari – The New Tale of Usuyuki).
The Shin Usuyuki Monogatar was written in 1741, in the Kanpō era of the Edo Period.
There is a link about the detailed story of Shin Usuyuki Monogatari in English. (https://kabukilive.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/june-grand-kabuki-新薄雪物語-shin-usuyuki-monogatari-the-new-tale-of-usuyuki/)
(Note: this story is not real!! everything below is just a story!!)
I will briefly describe the story related to this printing based on the blog in link above:
In order to help Akizuki Daizen to get a lady he wants, Dankuro is ordered by Daizen to damage the newly gifted sword forged by Rai Kuniyuki (Rai Kunitoshi's father). He has been seen by Kuniyuki himself in the act. Being exposed, Dankuro kills Kuniyuki. That damaged sword was sent to Masamune to repair. Masamune knew that the sword was made by Kuniyuki, and later realized why Kunitoshi came to become his student, then knew everything about what Dankuro did. In the final scene, the father Masamune cut Dankuro's hand.
Back to this printing.....
The person in the middle is Gorō Nyūdō Masamune, left is Dankuro (i believe it's a fake character), and right is Rai Kunitoshi (in the story he is Masamune's student). In the image, Masamune looks very angry with the son Dankuro, which matches the story.
