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The Flute, Chapter 37 (Yokobue)

Kunisada I (Toyokuni III), 1853, Wood cut
The Flute, Chapter 37 (Yokobue)
The Flute, Chapter 37 (Yokobue)
The Flute, Chapter 37 (Yokobue)
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Category
Library Item
Item no
16231
Title
The Flute, Chapter 37 (Yokobue) from the series "A Modern Collection of Genji in Colour Prints" ("Ima Genji nishiki-e awase")
Description
In this image Mitsuuji (Genji) raises his lantern to see a ghostly woman in grey holding a flute. Mitsuuji's fan is decorated with a 'Genji ko', a design created by an arrangement of incense sticks that refers to a specific chapter in the Tale of Genji. The woman in grey wears a blue flower headdress and a red under kimono. Her outer kimono is printed in gradations of pale lilac to green. An obi belt fastens her kimono at the front.
Mitsuuji is dressed in a lilac kimono decorated with a five petal flower design upon a chequerboard ground. His obi belt has a black and orange floral design. As he crouches at the woman's feet he raises the lantern with one hand and grasps the hilt of his sword with the other hand.
Mitsuuji wears clogs (geta) on his feet. The woman's feet are hidden by the foliage of a bushy plant, thus giving the impression that she is floating. Mitsuuji's hair is bound with a purple cord and tied in a lobster tail topknot. This scene takes place at night.

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
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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