Archive: Ashiyuki (芦幸)

Nakamura Utaemon III as Ishikawa Goemon in Konoshita kage hazama, Naka Theater, Osakagassen

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Signature

Seal

Publisher

7/1826

Format:
(H x W)

Ôban deluxe nishiki-e
36.0 x 24.2 cm

Very good

very good color; good condition (unbacked; metallics; embossing; rubbed on right side corners; binding holes along left edge: both edges reinforced on verso by very thin paper); minor creases and a couple of light stains)

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Background

This play is one of the Ishikawa Goemon mono ("plays about Ishikawa Goemon"), the legendary fugitive outlaw. The historical Goemon was a masterless samurai (rônin, literally "wave man") during the reign of the shôgun Toyotomi Hideyoshi. At age sixteen, he murdered three men while attempting to steal from his master. After his escape, he lived as a bandit for the next two decades until, in 1594, he was captured during a failed attempt to kill Hideyoshi. Goemon met a grisly end by being boiled in oil. The theatrical Goemon was often made into a hero ― fearless, elusive, and endowed with magical powers. The first staging of Goemon’s exploits occurred in the 1680s.

Design

A dramatic portrayal of the infamous outlaw, with an unusual pink background.