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「福島左衛門」
This print is from a series of historical warriors in comical situations that was one of the reasons why Utamaro fell afoul of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1804. He was jailed for three days and sentenced to house arrest in handcuffs for a month, a humiliating and unusually severe punishment that is thought to have contributed to his early death in 1806. The shogunate may have been especially sensitive to perceived disrespect for the warrior class at around that time because of a sex scandal of 1803 involving ladies-in-waiting at the shogun’s palace and the amorous abbot of the temple Enmei-in.
“Fukushima Saemon” shows the great warrior Fukushima Masanori grimacing comically as he undergoes moxibustion treatment, a traditional medical practice in which aches and pains were relieved by burning tiny pellets of herbs on acupressure points. The beautiful women applying the treatment laugh at his pained expression.
Fukushima Saemon, from an untitled series of warriors
「福島左衛門」
Japanese
Edo period
about 1803–04 (Kyôwa 3–Bunka 1)
Medium/Technique
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Vertical ôban; 38 x 26 cm (14 15/16 x 10 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
William Sturgis Bigelow Collection
Accession Number11.18180
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
This print is from a series of historical warriors in comical situations that was one of the reasons why Utamaro fell afoul of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1804. He was jailed for three days and sentenced to house arrest in handcuffs for a month, a humiliating and unusually severe punishment that is thought to have contributed to his early death in 1806. The shogunate may have been especially sensitive to perceived disrespect for the warrior class at around that time because of a sex scandal of 1803 involving ladies-in-waiting at the shogun’s palace and the amorous abbot of the temple Enmei-in.
“Fukushima Saemon” shows the great warrior Fukushima Masanori grimacing comically as he undergoes moxibustion treatment, a traditional medical practice in which aches and pains were relieved by burning tiny pellets of herbs on acupressure points. The beautiful women applying the treatment laugh at his pained expression.
Catalogue Raisonné
MFA, Golden Age (2010), #92; Ukiyo-e shûka 3 (1978), list #767; Shibui, Ukiyo-e zuten Utamaro (1964), 243.2.4; Yoshida, Utamaro zenshû (1941), #818; others in the series: Asano & Clark, Passionate Art (1995), #s 433, 434, 435
DescriptionMFA prints in the series: 11.18180, 11.21173, 11.21174, 54.282, 54.283
The three prints from the Bigelow Collection--11.18180, 11.21173, 11.21174--have handwritten inscriptions indicating that they were once owned by Kawanabe Kyôsai.
The three prints from the Bigelow Collection--11.18180, 11.21173, 11.21174--have handwritten inscriptions indicating that they were once owned by Kawanabe Kyôsai.
Signed
Utamaro hitsu
歌麿筆
歌麿筆
Marks
No censor's seal
改印：なし
改印：なし
InscriptionsHandwritten inscription by former owner Kawanabe Kyôsai, noting that he acquired the print in 1887 (Meiji 20).
ProvenanceFormerly in the collection of Kawanabe Kyôsai; by 1911, purchased by William Sturgis Bigelow (b. 1850 - d. 1926), Boston [see note 1]; 1911, gift of Bigelow to the MFA. (Accession Date: August 3, 1911)
NOTES:
[1] Much of Bigelow's collection of Asian art was formed during his residence in Japan between 1882 and 1889, although he also made acquisitions in Europe and the United States. Bigelow deposited many of these objects at the MFA in 1890 before donating them to the Museum's collection at later dates.
NOTES:
[1] Much of Bigelow's collection of Asian art was formed during his residence in Japan between 1882 and 1889, although he also made acquisitions in Europe and the United States. Bigelow deposited many of these objects at the MFA in 1890 before donating them to the Museum's collection at later dates.