The Ghost of Asakura Togo, From the Play "Higashiyama Sakura Zoshi"

Vertical ōban. Dimensions: 19 ¾ x 25 ¾ in. (50.17 x 65.41 cm)

Actors: Bandō Hikosaburō IV 四代坂東彦三郎 as Orikoshi Tairyō Ichikawa Kodanji IV 四代市川小団次 as the ghost of Asakura Tōgo

Markings: Artist’s signature: Toyokuni ga 豊國 画 (black, vertical, inside red toshidama cartouche) Publisher’s seal: Ryōgoku Jōshūya 両國 上州屋 (vertical rectangle, horizontal then vertical text, positive, black on white ground) Censors’ seals: Magome 馬込; Hama 濱

Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter

Play: Higashiyama Sakura Zōshi (The Story of Sakura of Higashiyama). The play opened in Edo in 1851. Story: The play is about a local mayor named Asakura Tōgo (the ostensibly historical personage, Sakura Sōgorō 1597-1645), who went directly to the shogun to request tax relief for his town, instead of talking to the crooked governor Orikoshi Tairyō (the real-life Lord Hotta Kōzuke). This angered both the shogun and the governor. As a result, both Asakura and his wife were sentenced to die by crucifixion but only after watching the murder of their sons. The story claims that Asakura’s vengeful ghost returned to haunt the castle of the evil governor, frightening Orikoshi and his family to death. Here Asakura Tōgo appears in a wisp of smoke with ropes around his body and covered in blood. His face and lips are deathly blue as he haunts Orikoshi, who tries to fight the apparition with his sword.