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UKIYO-E JAPANESE WOODBLOCK ART PRINT "Okon's Lover Fukuoka Mitsugi", from the series "Mirror of Virtuous Women" (Teijo Misao Kagami てい女美作保鏡 おこん福岡貢), by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, ca 1843–47. This is a scene from a kabuki play "Ise Ondo Koi no Netaba", a riveting story of a bloodbath in a tea-house, based (very loosely, one should add) on a true murder story that happened in the town of Furuichi near the Ise Shrine in 1976. Like many other scary and thrilling plays, this one was often performed during the summer "...when the bloodcurdling doings on stage might provide audiences some 'chilling' relief in sultry weather." In the play, the story is centered around a valuable but cursed sword, made by smith Shimosaka and possessed by a bloodthirsty spirit that forces its owner to kill when the sword is unsheathed. The loyal samurai Fukuoka Mitsugi has been charged with returning the dangerous sword to the Awa House daimyo, to whom the weapon originally belonged. The sword was lost and is pawned, swapped and hidden within the Aburaya tea-house and it's precious certificate of authenticity that proves it's value and danger is separated from it. Mitsugi comes to the tea-house to see his lover, the courtesan Okon, and to find and retrieve the precious sword. The Shimosaka sword in concealed in a wrong sheath, and when it's bared by accident in a brawl, it's evil comes over Mitsugi, who goes on a murdering rampage, killing one person after another in the brothel, until the faithful Okon runs in with the certificate of the sword and stops Mitsugi by proving that he's holding the cursed weapon. She stops him from killing himself in repentance for his mass-murder, by reminding him that it was the sword that caused the blood-bath and that he is bound by duty to return that sword to his master. In this print we see the possessed Mitsugi about to strike his next victim, when Okon throws the certificate scroll to him. The chaotic, panic-stricken shadow figures in the background and the urgency of Okon's hand gesture, swiftly throwing the scroll to her lover, adds to the tension of this dramatic scene! ★ Reproduced from an antique book illustration, respectfully and lovingly restored
and enhanced digitally, to remove the non-artistic blemishes and colour
fading. ★ A3 print, 297mm x 420mm. (Interior images are shown for styling and illustrative purposes only, not to be used as a precise scale guide. There will be no watermarks on the actual print.) ★ Printed in England on a 350gsm Eucalyptus paper, made from eucalyptus pulp from sustainable sources. It is brilliant white and smooth and Eco
printed with high pigment environmentally-friendly toners. ★ Supplied unframed, carefully rolled and packed with tissue paper in a strong cardboard tube for safe transit. FRAMED / READY-TO-HANG LISTING ALSO AVAILABLE here:https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154837842810 ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
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