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The Handsome Pillar, Chapter 31 (Makibashira)

Kunisada I (Toyokuni III), 1853, Wood cut
The Handsome Pillar, Chapter 31 (Makibashira)
The Handsome Pillar, Chapter 31 (Makibashira)
The Handsome Pillar, Chapter 31 (Makibashira)
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Library Item
Item no
16225
Title
The Handsome Pillar, Chapter 31 (Makibashira) from the series "A Modern Collection of Genji in Colour Prints" ("Ima Genji nishiki-e awase")
Description
In this print a man in a blue outer kimono raises his sleeve to shield his face from the ash that a woman has thrown at him. The samurai is depicted kneeling on the ground with his body turned away from the woman, and the ash that has spilled out from a censer can be seen upon his clothes. The standing woman is dressed conservatively in a grey kimono patterned with pale grey flowers. Her hair is also worn in a simple fashion, unlike the young woman kneeling to her left who attempts to restrain her. This younger woman wears a red kimono patterned with blue flowers, and a red bow completes her hairstyle. This confrontation takes place in a Japanese villa and a sliding door panel has opened to reveal a veranda and a pine tree in the garden beyond. This scene takes place at night and there is a freestanding lamp with a paper shade in the corner of the room. The blue sliding doors of the villa are decorated with a wisteria motif. The white flat object in the foreground may be a piece of upturned furniture, included to indicate that the woman has stood up quickly.

This image derives from the serial novel or 'gokan', 'A Fake Murasaki and a Rustic Genji' (Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji) written by Ryutei Tanehiko and illustrated by Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III), that was published between 1829-1842. This story reworks elements from the 'Tale of Genji' and transposes the action from the Heian period (794-1185) to the time of the Muromachi era's Onin Wars (1467-1477).
Artist / maker
Kunisada I (Toyokuni III)
Date
1853
Size
27.9 x 19.8 cm
Type
Location
Art and Design Library
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