About This Print
One of 18 prints published from 1922 to 1923 as part of the celebration of the two-hundredth anniversary of the death of Chikamatsu Manzaemon (1623-1724), perhaps the greatest dramatist in the history of the Japanese theater. Each design illustrates a scene or character from one of Chikamatsu’s famous works. For more details on this series go to Woodblock Print Supplements to the Complete Works of Chikamatsu.The Story of Kezori
Source: The Major Plays of Chikamatsu, translated by Donald Keene, Columbia University Press, 1961, p. 4.The story of "Kezori" is based on a real incident involving a gang of seven smugglers who were caught in Nagasaki and were nose-cut and put in stocks for three days in Osaka in October 1718. Chikamatsu Monzaemon immediately adapted this event for the puppet theater, writing the drama "Hakata Kojorō Nami Makura", which was staged at the Takemotoza in November 1718.
Source: Amagasaki city website http://www.city.amagasaki.hyogo.jp/web/contents/info/city/city03/chikamatsu/english/C2_p1.html
Soshichi, a merchant in Kyoto, witnesses Kezori Kuemon and his group illegally smuggling materials on a ship going to Hakata. Soshichi is thrown into the ocean, but fortunately survives. When Soshichi visits Kojoro, a courtesan he knows well, he again encounters Kuemon. Kuemon buys Kojoro's freedom and tells Soshichi that he won't kill him but instead, allow him to be with Kojoro and join his group. Soshichi abandons morality in order to continue his love affair. Living in Kyoto, he feels unsafe as Kuemon distrusts him. Soshichi runs away to Oiwake, but is arrested and later commits suicide.
Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #136 |
| Title or Description | The Sailor Kezori Kuemon (毛剃九右衛門) in Hakata Kojoro Nami Makura |
| Series | Woodblock Print Supplements to the Complete Works of Chikamatsu Dai Chikamatsu zenshu furoku mokuhan 大近松全集 付録木版 |
| Artist | Noda Kyūho (1879-1971) |
| Signature |  |
| Seal | unread seal (see above) |
| Publication Date | between 1922-1923 |
| Edition | likely first edition, but the number of editions issued is unknown |
| Publisher | Dai Chikamatsu zenshū kankōkai 大近松全集刊行会 (the Complete Work of Chikamatsu Publishing Association) |
| Carver | Yamagishi Kazue (1893-1996) |
| Printer | Nishimura Kumakichi (b. 1862; act. c. 1911-1947) |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | excellent |
| Condition | excellent |
| Miscellaneous | all prints from this series printed on a light tan-colored paper |
| Genre | shin hanga (new prints) |
| Format | dai-oban |
| H x W Paper | 11 1/4 x 18 in. (29.2 x 44.5 cm) |
| H x W Image | 10 5/8 x 17 in. (22.2 x 37.8 cm) measurement includes gray border |
| Collections This Print | The Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum of Waseda University 201-0390 and 201-0391; Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division LC-DIG-jpd-00227; Rijksmuseum Netherlands RP-P-1990-439 |
| Reference Literature |
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