Ehon taka kagami 絵本鷹かゞみ
FSC-GR-780.297.1-5

Commentary by Oikawa Shigeru

Posted December 6, 2016

Original unedited text in Japanese follows

Ehon taka kagami (A picture-book mirror of hawks) is a reference book on falconry. The word kagami, or “mirror,” refers to an example or “how-to” book and in this case signifies “a basic guide to falconry.” There are three volumes in the first part (shohen 初編) and two in the second (nihen 二編), for a total of five volumes. Volume 1, Part 1, introduces the history of falconry—a practice dating back to the Nara period—through the use of tanka (短歌) poetry and setsuwa (説話) tales. Volume 2 comments on the figures of various master falconers, with the second half comprising a reproduction of a folding screen illustrating hawks by Kano Sanraku 狩野山楽 (1559–1635); today the whereabouts of this work are unknown. Volume 3 covers aspects of falconry in the Edo period. Noteworthy are the images of hunting large cranes that are arranged serially as if they are motion-picture stills. The end of the volume depicts Chinese falconry masters. Volume 1, Part 2, shows the circumstances of falconry, as well as the attire and customs of falconry masters dating since the Heian period. Volume 2 provides an in-depth explanation of various species names of hawks, names of feathers, and other parts of hawk anatomy.

This book is unusual within Kyōsai’s corpus of illustrated picture books. As a work commissioned by experts and specialists of falconry, it contains no hint of the artist’s characteristic humor. At this time there appear to have been few artists or illustrators who could capture the mannerisms and forms of hawks with such precision based on a direct observation from nature. Only Kyōsai could meet the demands of such a commission; he brought several animals into his home, striving to sketch them from life at all times, day and night.

Part 1 was published in 1863 (Bunkyū 3), and it is believed that the release of Part 2 was planned to follow. However, the actual publication was greatly delayed, and it did not appear until 1879. Kyōsai’s name (狂斎) is listed as the artist throughout, lending credence to the idea that the drafts of the drawings for Part 2 were already complete by the time Part 1 was released. The Pulverer copy does not have the original cover design of hawk feathers. [1] The Pulverer collection also contains an incomplete edition by a different publisher (FSC-GR-780.301.1-3).

[1] The Kyōsai Memorial Museum issued a reprint of this book in 1985. It has a detailed commentary by Hanami Kaoru, former falconry master of the Imperial Household Agency. Furthermore, the first edition had a cover with a vividly colored pattern of hawk feathers that was reproduced in the reprint.

書名絵本鷹かゞみ

執筆者　及川茂　

『絵本鷹かゞみ』は鷹狩に関する解説書である。「かがみ」という言葉には模範、手本という意味があり、ここでは「鷹狩の基礎知識」といった意味である。「初編」3巻、「二編」2巻の全5巻からなり、「初篇上」では奈良時代に遡る鷹狩の歴史を短歌、説話などを交えながら紹介する。「初篇中」は様々な鷹匠の姿を紹介し、後半は狩野山楽の描いた鷹図の屏風の模写である。[1]「初篇下」は江戸時代の鷹狩の諸相を紹介し、特に大物の鶴を狩る様を連続的な図で動画のように描いている。最後に中国の鷹匠たちを描く。「二篇上」は平安時代以降の鷹匠たちの服装や風俗、鷹狩のありさまを描き、「二篇下」では鷹の種類や名前、羽毛の名称、鷹の体の部分や名称などを詳しく解説している。

暁斎絵本の中では異質な作品で、暁斎特有のユーモアは微塵もなく、鷹狩の専門家の求めに応じて制作した絵本である。当時の絵師でこのように鷹の表情や形態を精細に描ける絵師は皆無だったのであろう。自宅に数十種類もの動物を飼い、日夜写生に励む暁斎しか、そういう求めに応じられる絵師はいなかった。

「初篇」は文久3年刊であり、引き続き「二篇」が予定されたと思われるが、出版は大幅に遅れて明治12年であった。署名はすべて「狂斎」であるので、「二篇」の下絵は「初篇」刊行直後には完成していたと思われる。

暁斎記念館が刊行した復刻版には、元宮内庁鷹匠である花見薫Hanami Kaoruによる詳細な解説がある。なお初版には見開きに使われている鷹羽模様が極彩色のカバーとなって付いていた。

[1] この屏風は現在、所在不明である。

Selected readings

Louise Norton Brown, Block Printing and Book Illustration in Japan (London: George Routledge and Sons: E. P. Dutton, 1924), 196.

Collection Ch. Haviland, éstampes japonaises et livres illustrés, 18e vente (Paris: Hôtel Drouot, 1927), 89.

Théodore Duret, Livres et albums illustrés de Japon (Paris: Ernest Ledoux, 1900), 304.

Jack Hillier, The Art of the Japanese Book, 2 vols. (London: Sotheby’s Publications by Philip Wilson Publishers, 1987), see esp. vol. 1, 93.

Yoshida Susugu 吉田漱, Hanami Kaoru 花見薫, C. H. Mitchell チャールズー・H・ミッチエル, and Scott Johnson スコット・ジョンソン, Ehon taka kagami 『絵本鷹かゞみ』 (repr., Warabi City: Kyōsai Memorial Museum, 1985).

Copies in other collections

Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
British Museum, London
Kawanabe Kyosai Memorial Museum, Warabi City