Utagawa Kunisada (歌川国貞) / Toyokuni III (三代豊国) (artist 1786 – 01/12/1865)
The First Month (Mutsuki) from the series The Twelve Months (Jūnika tsuki no uchi - 十二ヶ月のうち 睦月) - Mitsuuji and Lady Futaba (二葉のうへ)
1851
10 in x 14 in (Overall dimensions) color woodblock print
Signed: Toyokuni ga (豊国画)
Publisher: Minatoya Kohei (Marks 332 - seal 24-074)
Censor seals: Mera and Watanabe
The Kunisada Project
Ukiyoe ni kiku
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
National Diet Library
Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College In Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology 1600-1900, edited by Haruo Shirane, Columbia University Press, 2002, page 804, it says:
"The motives of Mitsuuji and the other major characters are rarely simple. In addition to symbolically satisfying his desire for his mother and stopping Sōzen, the intelligent Mitsuuji understands politics well and knows that if his father tries to make him shōgun, the succession will be challenged and the stability of shōgunate threatened. Moreover, he remains loyal to his older brother. Thus, although people call him the “shining prince” (hikaru kimi)—the name Mitsuuji means Shining Clan—he devotes his life to love affairs, thereby ruining his reputation for the sake of his older brother, his clan, and the shōgunate. Even when his father has him marry Lady Futaba, the daughter of one of his supporters, Mitsuuji rarely visits her. A playboy reputation, Mitsuuji hopes, will keep him from becoming shōgun, thus allowing him freedom of movement and the ability to act unnoticed behind the scenes." [The choice of bold type is ours. Futaba is the "...daughter of Akamatsu Masanori, the minister of the left, suggesting Lady Aoi, Genji's principal wife in The Tale of Genji.]
This sets the stage for Mitsuuji to both appear as a profligate while actually trying to ensure that his brother, to whom he is loyal, succeeds their father as shōgun. He also uses his romantic adventures to cover his real purpose: recovering the stolen family treasure, a special sword, Kogarasumaru (小烏丸). He loves them and leaves them, all based on the possibility that one of these women might know something of the whereabouts of that heirloom sword. Hence he marries Lady Futaba, because his father wants him to, but immediately goes on this quest, which in his mind requires the bedding of many beautiful women for the greater good of his clan. Some assignment, eh?!
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Title and series cartouche in the upper left, with print title superimposed on a genji-mon design device, generally used to indicate a particular chapter from the 11th century novel, Tale of Genji [Genji monogatari].
Mutsuki refers to the first month of the calendar year. In ancient nomenclature Mutsuki was known as the "Month of harmony," or, "Month of affection."
Mitsuuji is wearing a 'samurai eboshi' (侍烏帽子) on his head.
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Please note the in-your-face display of the sasarindō motif.
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There is another copy of this print in the San Diego Museum of Art.
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Illustrated in a small black and white reproduction in the Illustrated Catalogues of Tokyo National Museum: Ukiyo-e Prints (3), #2841.
Genji related prints (Genji-e - 源氏絵) (genre)
Minatoya Kohei (湊屋小兵衛) (publisher)
Ryūtei Tanehiko (柳亭種彦) (author)