Utagawa Kunisada (歌川国貞) / Toyokuni III (三代豊国) (artist 1786 – 01/12/1865)
#88 (八十八番 - hachijūhachiban) from the series 'A Pictorial Commentary on One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets' - a bijin with a hand-drum paired with a book opened to a poem by the Imperial Princess Shokushi (式子内親王 - Shokushi Naishinnō)
1847
10 in x 14.25 in (Overall dimensions) Japanese color woodblock print
Signed: Kōchōrō Toyokuni ga
香蝶楼国貞画
Publisher: Sanoya Kihei
Marks 446 - seal 25-210
Censors' seals: Hama and Kinugasa
Tokyo Metropolitan Library
National Diet Library
Victoria and Albert Museum There is a bit of confusion about this print. Normally Shokushi Naishinnō) is listed as number 89 (八十九) of the 100 Poets, but in this series it says she is number 88 (八十八). It shows an elegant woman before a kotsuzumi paired with a book opened to a poem by the Imperial Princess Shokushi (式子内親王).
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Scholten Japanese Art noted:
"After issuing the 37th design in this series (except no. 47) of 100 poet prints, Kunisada changed the framework of the compositions by eliminating the series title and replacing the poem cards with a cartouche in the shape of an open book illustrating the featured poet and poem. Capitalizing on his recent success as illustrator of the serialized novel by Ryutei Tanehiko, Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji (A Rustic Genji by a Fraudulent Murasaki) which was published from 1829-1842, Kunisada introduced Genji-related motifs to 42 subsequent prints this series. The changes to the format may be responsible for some confusion that led to the numbering of the prints sometimes falling out of sequence with the numbering of the poems in the Hyakunin isshu. Although this is identified as print number 88 in the series, the open book cartouche overlapping a band of genjimon (Genji incense patterns) illustrates a portrait of the Imperial Princess Shokushi accompanied by her poem number 89 from the Hyakunin isshu."
"Tama no wo yo
tahenabe taene
nagaraheba
shinoburu koto no
yohari mo zo suru"
"O, jewelled thread of life!
if you are to break, then break now!
for, if I live on,
my ability to hide my love
will most surely weaken!"
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A beauty with drumsticks sits with a drum on a stand. Above and to the right, a book of the Hyakunin Isshu e-shō with a poem by and image of Princess Shikishi (式子内親王).
There is some kind of tenuous connection to the Tale of Genji as can be seen in the various Genji mon which run in a band across the top of this print. The plant appears to be the heartvine or aoi (葵) which corresponds to the 9th chapter in Royall Tyler's translation.
A note about the use of the term 'aoi': In a WordPress posting from July 1, 2010 Royall Tyler, one of the most credible sources of accurate information on Japanese culture anywhere wrote: As for “heart-to-heart,” several totally different Japanese plants are called AOI. I learned which AOI this is from various authoritative sources and saw the plant growing in a Kyoto garden. But there was no English for it. I hope this translation reflects both the form of the plant and its role in the Tale. As I must have explained in a note, the name (spelled in A-FU-HI in old Japanese) makes a word play on AFU HI, “day of [lovers’] meeting.”
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Shokushi naishinnō (or Shikishi) was an "Early Kamakura waka poet [who died in 1201.] Daughter of Goshirakawa (r. 1155-1158) and at one time Kamo Shrine Priestess, she was at the center of much of the cultural life of the court. Although only 388 of her poems survive, their consistently high quality establish her as one of the first poets of her day. She was a gifted descriptive poet, especially in the yōembi style instituted by Fujiwara Teika. She was unexcelled in her time for her love poetry of intense passion, rarefied beauty, and rich allusiveness. She brought to new life the ancient and continuing poetry of the passionate woman, transforming or heightening it by indirection and descriptive symbolism. Given the brilliant realization of her poetry, it is not surprising that it was sometimes read as autobiography, and so, as with Ono no Komachi, legends of her arose. The best known concerns a love affair between her and Teika. They did share dedication to poetry of the highest quality. Her own often combine seasonal and love elements when writing on either topic, and she is one of the most skillful users of honkadori among all waka poets. What evidence exists shows that she was personally thoughtful, whether to a grand old poet like Fujiwara Shunzei, or to women in her service."
Quoted from: The Princeton Companion to Classical Japanese Literature by Miner, Odagiri and Morrell, 1985, p. 233.
Sanoya Kihei (佐野屋喜兵衛) (publisher)
beautiful woman picture (bijin-ga - 美人画) (genre)
mitate-e (見立て絵) (genre)
Genji related prints (Genji-e - 源氏絵) (genre)