Until 2nd May, 2025
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† UTAGAWA YOSHIIKU: ICHIKAWA KODANJI IV AS THE PRIEST MONGAKU
LOT 661 - AK0124
By Utagawa Yoshiiku (1833–1904), signed Yoshiiku ga
Japan, dated 1864
Color woodblock print and white pigment (gofun) on paper. Vertical oban. Signed Yoshiiku ga, censor’s seal: Rat 4 aratame; publisher Omiya Kyujiro (Kiyudo). Titled Ichikawa Kodanji IV as the Priest Mongaku from the play Nachi-no-Take Chikai no Mongaku, (The Priest Mongaku at the Waterfall of Nachi).
The actor Ichikawa Kodanji IV as the Priest Mongaku in penance for thirty-seven days under the freezing Nachi waterfall for accidentally killing his lover Kesa Gozen. The explosion of the water is a graphic tour de force, Mongaku sits wearing the deluge with a forbidding tolerance, his rightward glance, suggesting the imminent arrival of the compassionate goddess.
SIZE of the sheet 35.5 x 24 cm
Condition: Good condition with wear and browning of paper. Few losses and tears along the margins, minor staining along the edges, partially backed by Japan paper. Mounted on a paper cartouche with tape.
Provenance: From a private collection in Florida, USA.
Endo Morito was a samurai who became embroiled in an affair which ended tragically. As a result, Morito became a monk, changed his name to Mongaku and began three years of penance. He almost died while praying beneath the Nachi waterfall in the freezing winter. At the point of near death, he is rescued by Fudo Myo (the Buddhist deity of fire) and by Kannon, the goddess of compassion.
Museum comparison:
An identical print is in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston accession number 11.41204.
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