316 - Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861)

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861) Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō (a series created jointly with Hiroshige, Kunisada, and Kuniyoshi) Station No. 22: Fujieda—The Monk Renshō (Kumagai Naozane) and the Promise The scene depicts the legend of the famous warrior Kumagai Naozane, who became the Buddhist monk Rensho. Overcome with remorse after killing the young Atsumori at the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani, he renounced violence. On his way east, he stopped in Fujieda, where he met a man (depicted here on the right) who lent him money. The monk left ten repetitions of the Buddha’s name (Nenbutsu) as collateral. The upper pink cartouche, circular in shape, is adorned with stylized lotus flowers (hasu) in the background, echoing the monk’s spiritual name (Rensho, which contains the kanji for lotus). Woodblock print Signed: “Chooro Kuniyoshi ga” on the print in the upper left, followed by the artist’s red seal Period: Edo (1845/46 (Koka 2–3) Seal: round nanushi Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburo (Dansendo) Engraver: Horiko Fusajiro Format: Oban tate-e Fresh colors. Numerous binding holes in the left margin. A few wormholes. Right margin trimmed. Slight soiling.