273 - UTAGAWA KOKUNIMASA: JIGOKU TAYU (HELL COURTESAN)

UTAGAWA KOKUNIMASA: JIGOKU TAYU (HELL COURTESAN) By Utagawa Kokunimasa (1874-1944), signed with a seal Ryua Japan, early 20th century, Meiji period (1868-1912) Ink, watercolors, and gouache on silk. Mounted as a hanging scroll within a silk brocade frame with wood jikusaki (roller ends). Finely painted with the celebrated courtesan Jigoku Tayu standing beside a monumental painting of the open-mouthed Agyo, one of the two Nio guardians, rendered in vigorous monochrome brushwork. The courtesan turns toward the fearsome guardian while holding a Buddhist fly whisk (hossu), her sumptuous outer robe richly decorated with scenes of the Buddhist hell populated by demons and tormented souls. A young attendant (kamuro), dressed in white, kneels at her feet and gazes upward. The juxtaposition of the vividly colored and elegantly poised courtesan with the boldly brushed guardian creates a striking picture-within-a-picture composition, underscoring the subject's characteristic tension between worldly beauty and Buddhist contemplation. Inscription: To the lower left, signed and sealed 柳蛙 Ryua [Willow Frog]. To the reverse, inscribed 地獄太夫ノ画 Jigoku Tayu no ga [Painting of the Hell Courtesan]. IMAGE SIZE 144 x 58.5 cm, SIZE incl. mounting 205.5 x 72 cm Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, folds and creasing, light foxing, and scattered soiling. The mounting with usual traces of wear and age and small losses to the silk on the reverse. With an associated inscribed wood awasebako (storage box). Utagawa Kokunimasa (1874-1944) was a late-generation artist of the Utagawa school and the eldest son and pupil of Utagawa Kunimasa IV (1848-1920), also known as Kunisada III. He worked under several artist names, including Baido and Ryua, and is also sometimes identified as Kunimasa V. He produced actor prints, genre scenes, caricatures, and topical subjects, and became particularly known for his depictions of the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars. The name Ryua is said to have been adopted during his study of painting under Iijima Koga (1829-1900). Jigoku Tayu, the celebrated "Hell Courtesan," is one of the most compelling figures in Japanese popular culture, embodying the paradoxical union of sensual beauty, worldly pleasure, death, and Buddhist enlightenment. According to legend, she encountered the eccentric Zen monk Ikkyu (1394-1481), renowned for challenging conventional distinctions between sacred and profane. Their legendary meeting became associated with Buddhist teachings on impermanence and Jigoku's progress toward spiritual awakening. The story was later popularized in Edo-period literature and theater, and Jigoku Tayu came to be conventionally depicted in sumptuous robes decorated with demons, sinners, and scenes of the Buddhist hell, deliberately setting worldly splendor against reminders of death and salvation. The hossu, a fly whisk traditionally associated with Buddhist clergy, symbolizes the sweeping away of mental distractions and ignorance. Its placement in the hand of Jigoku Tayu is therefore particularly significant, emphasizing the contrast between her worldly identity as a celebrated courtesan and the spiritual awakening central to her legend. Museum comparison: Compare a hanging scroll depicting the same subject by Utagawa Kunisada II (1823-1880), titled The Hell Courtesan, dated to the late 1850s, ink and color on silk, 165.1 x 101 cm, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession number 2023.78. Like the present work, Jigoku Tayu is depicted in sumptuous robes decorated with scenes of the Buddhist hell, juxtaposing the beauty of the courtesan with imagery of damnation and spiritual redemption. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related pair of six-panel screens depicting the Hell Courtesan by the same artist, each 170 x 342 cm, signed Ryua and dated c. 1900, at Christie's, Japanese Screens, Paintings and Prints, 25 October 1994, New York, lot 212, sold for USD 57,500 or approx. EUR 114,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing.