Moronao, Lord of Musashi, offering his verses to the Lady Kawoyo, wife of Yenya

Katsukawa Shunsen, Japanese, about 1762 - 1830

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after 1806

Color woodblock print on paper

Set of 11

Overall: 9 1/2 × 13 in. (24.1 × 33 cm)

Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Claire E. and Dr. Frederick R. Mebel, Class of 1935

PR.975.18

Portfolio / Series Title

Number 1 from The Loyal League of Forty-seven Ronin (Uki-E Chushingura)

Geography

Place Made: Japan, East Asia, Asia

Period

19th century

Object Name

Print

Research Area

Print

Not on view

Label

Act 1: At the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine: Because censorship laws prohibited references to contemporary events, Lord En’ya’s assault of Moronao required a premise different from the historical incident on which the play was based. In the foreground, Moronao, passes Lady Kaoyo (Lord En’ya’s wife) a love letter. When Lady Kaoyo refuses his advances, Moronao vows to undermine her husband’s honor. Date Wakanosuke, the young daimyo charged with ceremonial duties similar to En’ya, witnesses Moronao’s vow from behind a tree. The scene in the background provides the reason for Lady Kaoyo’s presence in the capital: Emperor Godaigo (1288–1339) presented Nitta Yoshisada (1301–1338) with a special helmet. Lady Kaoyo had been called to the capital to identify the helmet so it could be enshrined at the Tsurugaoka Hachiman shrine after Nitta died in battle.

From the 2019 exhibition Narratives in Japanese Woodblock Prints, guest curated by Allen Hockley, Associate Professor of Art History at Dartmouth


Course History

ARTH 62.3, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Winter 2019

ARTH 62.30/ASCL 62.12, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Spring 2022

Art History 62.30, Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages 62.12, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Spring 2023

Art History 62.30, Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages 62.12, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Summer 2023

Exhibition History

Narratives in Japanese Woodblock Prints, Class of 1967 Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 27-June 9, 2019.

Palmer Lounge Cases, Hopkins Center Art Galleries, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, October 1975.

Provenance

Dr. Frederick Ronald Mebel (1913-1998) and Claire E. Mebel (1916-1994); Rockville Center, New York; given to present collection, 1975.

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Subjects

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