. Japan,


Kakine Torazo - 垣根寅蔵. Original color woodblock print from the series KINSEI KYOGIDEN - "Hero Biographies of the Modern Era" (近世侠義傳), published 1866, 2th month. Signed: Kaisai Yoshitoshi hitsu. Seal: Kiri. Publisher: Ise-ki (Iseya Kisaburo). Censor seal: Aratame combined with date. Plate carver: hori Ota Tashichi.
Kinsei means as much as modern time or the present; the word here translated as "hero" kyo, however, in its complete spelling actually read as kyokyaku, meaning men, who like Robin Hood as "noble" thieves rebelled against the ruling oder and corrupt officials. Often these daring fellows were no more than self-acclaimed venturers, dawdlers or down-and-out Ronin, who definitely did not intervene for the rights of the helpless. However, unhappy citizens celebrated them as heroes because of their resistance and rebellion against government authorities. The deeds of these adventurers were in last decades of the morbid, marked by decline Tokugawa Regime a popular theme for novels, theater plays and in color woodblock art, while today nobody still knows their names.


OBAN, 35,5 x 24 CM

From a Viennese private collection

Condition reports and further images are available upon request

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Expertise: Guenter Mueller