Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Japanese, 1798-1861

from the series: Stories of Chaste and Beautiful Women, 1843-1846
Published by Horiye-cho (Iba-ya Sensburo)
With seal of censor Muramatsu Genroku

Nishiki-e (color woodblock print)
Oban format
Signed Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi

Museum Collection

Kuniyoshi's series of images of virtuous women were another way of evading the harsh censorship laws of the 1840s, which banned images of courtesans for awhile. One notes the conjunction of beautiful with chaste. But the story depicted also celebrates Kuniyoshi's brazen belief in the triumphant power of art. Not only is the cat deceived by the skill of the lady, the painted butterfly seems to really come alive. Zeuxis' painted grapes, in the ancient Greek world, merely deceived the birds. Kuniyoshi was famous for his love of cats, whose complex and vital sinuosity was a challenge to his brush. Kuniyoshi also trained one of his daughters to be an artist. It is the magic of Japanese prints to create art within art, paintings within paintings, ghosts within ghosts.
Occasionally, Japanese prints show women in roles usually reserved for men. Is this merely sexy advertising or is there an act of poetic justice going on? The melodramatic power of role-reversal is strong in many ancient cultures - Hebrew, Greek, Japanese, etc.