Kikukawa Eizan Japanese, 1787-1867 A scene from a Kabuki play:Sukeroku and Agemaki, ca. 1829 Published by Nishimuraya Yohachi (Eijudo) With kiwame seal of censor Nishiki-e (color woodblock print) Oban format Signed: Eizan Museum Collection The chivalrous commoner Sukeroku kneels before his beloved Agemaki, the most beautiful and imposing high-class courtesan in the pleasure district. Sukeroku is in fact searching for his family's venerated sword, which has been stolen and which he needs to seek justice. Together, Agemaki and Sukeroku will defy fate and-temporarily at least-hold evil at bay. In their own way, they are flamboyantly pure and heroic, though their end must be tragic. Agemaki, like many courtesans, smokes an elegantly sexy pipe, which she will bestow upon her lover. Kabuki plays and Ukiyo-e prints are capable of being beautiful, lusty, earthy, elegant, tragic, and hilarious all at once. They are capable of being romantic and cynically witty all at once. But they are always vital, especially in the so-called decadent nineteenth-century period.