Background
Although we are uncertain about the play related to Munehiro's design, it is undoubtedly one of the many Ishikawa Goemon mono (plays about Ishikawa Goemon: 石川 五右衛門物). The anti-hero Ishikawa Goemon is well documented in history and legend. In real life, Goemon (1558 – 10/8/1594) was the son of the sixteenth-century warrior Takechi (Akechi) Mitsuhide who was killed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) just before the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate. Hideyoshi ordered the extermination of the entire clan, but the young Goemon survived, and years later sought to avenge his father's death by killing Hideyoshi. After numerous intrigues and escapes (in the theatrical dramas Goemon possesses magical powers and is a master of disguise), he was eventually captured and executed — in real life, by being boiled in oil, along with his son, in a gruesome public spectacle. Goemon's exploits were very popular subjects in legend, songs, narrative fiction, and kabuki and puppet plays. The mainstay on this theme in the kabuki repertoire is Kinmon (Sanmon) gosan no kiri (The golden gate and paulownia crest: 金門五三桐), first performed in 4/1778 at the Naka Theater, Osaka, which is still popular today. One of the many variations performed in Osaka was Keisei ishikawa zome (Ishikawa-dyed fabric, a courtesan play, けいせい石川染).
Design
* There was a performance in 1/1860 featuring Onoe Tamizô II as Ishikawa Goemon in Keisei Ishikawazome staged at the Kado no Shibai (角芝居) that might be a match for Munehiro's design. A slightly earlier Goemon role has been linked with Keisei setsugekka (Sun, moon, and flowers: a courtesan play, けいせい雪月花) from 1/1858 at the Naka no Shibai (中芝居). Another possibility was an earlier play called Katakiuchi midô mae (Vengeance before the palace: 敵討御堂前), which also went by the name Midô mae no adauchi (Revenge before the palace: 御堂前の仇討).
There is an impression of this design in the Kamigata Ukiyo-e Museum in Osaka. Ours has an exceptionally wide left margin, an ample top margin, and fine colors, including copper pigments for impressive dragons on the robe. This is truly a superb example of Osaka carving and printing in the chûban format.
References:
- NKE, p. 224.
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