Description
Funny polychrome woodblock print of horizontal yotsugiri (四つ切り) format, made in 1853 by the artist Utagawa Yoshikazu (歌川芳員) and depicting three legendary figures related to the Fujisawa station (藤澤) visible in the background: on the right is sitting Princess Terute (照天姫) while, in the foreground, the young samurai Oguri Hangan (小栗判官) is playing go (碁) with Onikage (鬼鹿毛), the “man-eating” horse he tamed.
The work, produced by the publisher Tsutaya Umejiro (蔦屋梅次郎), is taken from the “Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido” (東海道五十三次内), a very distinctive series in which the artist introduces, with humorous images, legends and episodes related to the stations of the famous connecting route.
The rare print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), despite the presence of small restorations, is in good condition.
