Scene From the Play "Futatsu Chōchō Kuruwa Nikki"

Vertical ōban. Dimensions: 19 ⅝ x 26 in. (49.85 x 66.04 cm)

Markings: Artist’s signature: Toyokuni ga 豊国 画 Censor’s seal: kiwame 極 Publisher’s seal: Matsu 松 (three mountains, black, positive, Marks 03-009)

Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter

Play: Futatsu chōchō kuruwa nikki (Two butterflies, the pleasure-quarter diary). This play was originally written for the puppet theater. It was performed as a Kabuki play for the first time in 1749. Story: Since the death of their parents, a young woman, Oseki, has been taking care of her younger brother, Chōkichi. She runs a rice store and wishes her brother would help more and be in trouble less. Chōkichi has an enemy, Chōgorō, who arrives at the rice shop after Oseki leaves to attend a religious meeting. This scene shows Chōkichi and Chōgorō fighting in the rice shop over the rice bundles. But soon strangers come into the shop claiming Chōkichi has stolen from them, temporarily stopping the fight. Oseki returns, and though Chōkichi claims he is innocent, she finds the stolen goods in the store. Oseki is disappointed in her brother. Since he cannot prove his innocence, he is about to commit suicide when Chōgorō stops him. Chōgorō says Chōkichi should be good to his sister. They both agree to stop fighting and Chōkichi agrees to behave better. Oseki has been listening from another room and returns, revealing that the thefts were staged to force Chōkichi to be a better brother.

Artist: Toyokuni I was a print designer, book illustrator and painter. A pupil of Utagawa Toyoharu at the age of 14, he came to prominence with his actor portraits by the 1790s. He became one of the leaders of the Utagawa school and was an extremely influential Kabuki printmaker. His students include Kunisada and Kuniyoshi. By 1800, his school had displaced the Katsukawa school as the dominant force in the production of actor prints in Edo and his students dominated print production in Edo into the Meiji era (1868-1912).