About This Print
One of 120 prints issued as part of the series Nōgaku hyakuban (One Hundred Prints of Noh). The print depicts the old woman Higaki performing a dance she once did for Fujiwara no Okinori in the play Higaki written by Zeami Motokiyo (1363-1443).This print was originally released by the publisher Matsuki Heikichi in the twenty-sixth installment of prints in this series. This series' prints were offered in monthly installments consisting of three prints packaged in an envelope with additional descriptive information.1
1 “The series Nogaku hyakuban (100 No plays) by Tsukioka Kogyo (1869-1927),” Claus-Peter Schulz, Andon 67, Society for Japanese Arts, p. 28.
The Play - Higaki 桧垣 (The Cypress Fence)
Source: A Guide to No, P.G. O'Neill, Hinoki Shoten, 1929, p. 54.
CharactersAct 1: Waki - a priest
Shite - an old woman
Kyōgen - a local person
Act 2: Nochi-shite - the woman Higaki
A priest living in the mountains sees a very old woman come every day to draw water. Questioning her, he learns that she is the woman Higaki who long ago composed a poem on being asked for water by Fujiwara no Okinori. After asking for his prayers, the woman disappears. When she returns later, she tells the priest of her early life and performs a dance as she recalls the time when she danced for Okinori.
Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #1941 |
| Title | Higaki 桧垣 (The Cypress Fence) |
| Series | Nōgaku hyakuban 能楽百番 (One Hundred Prints of Noh or One Hundred Noh Plays) |
| Artist | Tsukioka Kōgyo (1869-1927) |
| Signature |  Kōgyo 耕漁 |
| Seal |  |
| Date | July 1925 |
| Edition | unknown |
| Publisher |  松木平吉 (大黒屋) seal reading: 東京両国 大黒屋 発行 published by Daikokuya, Tokyo, Ryōgoku |
| Carver | |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | excellent |
| Condition | excellent - not backed; slight soiling |
| Genre | ukiyo-e |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Format | oban tate-e |
| H x W Paper | 14 7/8 x 10 1/16 in. (37.8 x 25.6 cm) |
| Collections This Print | Art Institute of Chicago 1943.834.35; Ritsumeikan University AcNo. arcUP1453 CoGNo. arcUP1343; Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, Scripps College 2007.1.85 |
| Reference Literature (pictured in) | The Beauty of Silence: Nō and Nature Prints by Tsukioka Kōgyo (1869-1927), Robert Schaap & J. Thomas Rimer, Hotei Publishing, 2010, p. 175. |
 |  |  |  |  |