Background
Ashiya Dôman Ôuchi kagami (An imperial mirror of Ashiya Dôman: 芦屋道満大内鑑) was written by Takeda Izumo II for the Takemoto Bunraku (puppet theater: 文楽) in 1734. (Kabuki introduced its first staging in Kyoto the following year.) Takeda's dramatization was related to the fictional genre known as irui konin banashi (stories of marriage between humans and animals: 異類婚姻話), reflecting the wide-spread belief in kitsune-tsuki (fox possession: 狐憑き or 狐付き).
The main tale features Kuzunoha, a white fox saved by a twelfth-century nobleman named Abe no Yasuna. The grateful creature took the form of a beautiful maiden (in some versions a princess) and look-alike sister of Yasuna's former lover. Kuzunoha gives birth to their son, Dôji, destined to become the famous astrologer Abe no Seimei. In the end, Kuzunoha is compelled to reclaim her fox nature, and so, with much regret, she abandons her husband and son after writing a famous farewell poem. The two most admired episodes are the kudoki (lamentation: 口説) scene in which the fox prepares to abandon her child and writes the poem, and the kowakare (child-separation: 小 分 か れ) scene when she looks upon Dôji for the last time.
Yokanpei was a servant of Abe no Yasuna. In one scene, Kuzunoha conjures a fox-döppleganger in human form for Yokanpei.
Design
Hokushû designed thirteen uchiwa okubi-e sheets from 1823 to 1825; two in 1823, four (the Uchiwa tôsei kurabe set) in 1824, and seven in 1825 (see HKS78). Our design comes from the set of four prints just mentioned, while the other sheets depict Nakamura Utaemon III (中村歌右衛門) as Abe no Yasuna (安部保名), Nakamura Utaemon III (中村歌右衛門) as the servant Yakanbei (やかん平), and Sawamura Kunitarô II (沢村國太郎) as the fox (kitsune) Kuzunoha 狐くずの葉).
The designs for the two servant portraits (Yokanpei and Yakanpei) are especially admired for the patterns of bold, red body makeup.
This is the first time we have been able to offer this print online.
References: IKBYS-I, no. 154; WAS-IV, no. 204; MFA Boston (11.35406-8)
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