Siebold’s Primrose – Beishō [Ichikawa Kodanji IV] as Asakura Tōgo

Comparisons of Beautiful Standing Flowers

説明

The print makes a pun on the name of the play, Sakura sōshi gonichi no bundan. The play takes its name after the protagonist, based on the historical figure Kiuchi Sōgo (1605–1653), who was a farmer in the Sakura Domain (present-day Chiba Prefecture). In this mitate (playful comparison), Yoshitoshi pairs Ichikawa Kodanji IV (who used the poetry name Beishō) in his role of Asakura Tōgo, a pseudonym for Sōgo, with the plant depicted in the background. This is Siebold's primrose (Primula sieboldii), which in Japanese is called sakurasō (cherry blossom weed) for its likeliness to cherry blossom when in bloom.

Kodanji performed the role in the Morita theatre in the eighth month of 1861, the same time this print was issued. Publishing kabuki prints on the occasion of new performances was a common marketing strategy.