/internal/media/dispatcher/973257/resize%25253Aformat%25253DthumbnailU Brigade, Sixth Group (Rokubangumi): (Actor Sawamura Tanosuke III as) Urazato, from the series Matches for the Kana Syllables (Mitate iroha awase)1866 (Keiō 2), 7th monthToyohara KunichikaTakeuchi Tachō (Utagawa Yoshikane)Enshūya HikobeiKatada Chōjirō (Hori Chō)Vertical ōban; 35.5 × 24.5 cm (14 × 9 5/8 in.)Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paperWilliam Sturgis Bigelow Collection11.404520The complete series of 48 sheets plus title page: 11.40423 to 11.40471.
The series title refers not just to the letters of the kana syllabary but to the firefighting brigades of Edo, which were organized into 48 groups to the west of the Sumida River, each designated by a single kana syllable (with 16 additional groups to the east of the river, not included here). In naming the fire brigades, the syllables Hi, He, Ra, and N, because they suggested words with bad implications, were replaced by the characters for Hyaku (100), Sen (1000), Man (10,000), and Hon respectively.
The brigades were further organized into larger groups numbered from one to ten, leaving out the bad luck numbers 4 and 7, for a total of 8 groups; each group included four to nine brigades.
On the title page for the series, each background square lists the brigades in one of the groups and the kabuki characters shown in the individual prints, whose names start with the same syllables as the respective brigades.Prints35.50000000000.000000000047143501