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Station 22: Okabe

Kunisada I (Toyokuni III), 1854, Wood cut
Station 22: Okabe
Station 22: Okabe
Station 22: Okabe
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Category
Library Item
Item no
16268
Title
Fifty-three stations by two brushes (Sohitsu gojusantsugi). Station 22: Okabe
Description
The figure in this print is (Okabe) Rokuyata from the kabuki play 'Ichinotani Futaba Gunki' and the actor is Arashi Kichisaburo III. The warrior wears a red coat patterned with the Rokuyata goshi trellis design This repeat design was first popularised by kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro VIII and was developed from the Ichikawa mimasu crest. The warrior's armour is based on the clothing worn by the Inomata group of Geji (Minamoto) warriors. In the 12th century war epic the Tale of Heike (Heike Mongatari), Okabe no Rokuyara no Tadazumi is able to identify his slain opponent, the Heike (Taira) Lord Tadanori, from a signed poem he finds attached to the dead man's quiver. In the poem, Tadanori reflects how cherry blossom might offer him shelter and become his host for the evening. In the print a tanzaku poetry slip hangs from the branch of cherry blossom in Rokuyata's hand.
In the background inset, Hiroshige depicts a hilly landscape covered with snow. Hiroshige's Hoeido print presents a completely different interpretation of the landscape and focuses on the travellers and woodcutters that use the narrow pass through Utsu valley.
The theme of this print is comparable to 'Okabe' in Kunisada's '53 Stations of the Tokaido' series of diptychs that was published in 1852 by Iseya, Tsujiokaya, Izutsuya and others.
Artist / maker
Kunisada I (Toyokuni III)
Engraver
Hori Take (Yokogawa Takejiro)
Date
1854
Size
36 x 24.8 cm
Type
Location
Art and Design Library
Rights and purchasing
Option
Price
Digital FileElectronic file 72 dpi JPEG
£5.80(inc. VAT 20%)
Digital FileElectronic File 300 dpi TIFF
£29.40(inc. VAT 20%)
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