Ehon misaogusa 画本操草

FSC-GR-780.639

Commentary by Yamamoto Yukari　

Posted December 6, 2017

Original unedited text in Japanese follows

This work is a retitled and reprinted version of Tsukioka Settei’s illustrated book Onna buyū kewai kurabe 女武勇粧競 (Comparison of women heroes), which was first issued in 1757 (Hōreki 7). The internal title at the beginning of each volume lists the revised title Ehon misaogusa 画本操草 (Picture-book of virtuous grasses), and the table of contents introduces the reader to the names and tales of wise women (kenjo 賢女), heroines (retsujo 烈女), and righteous women (teijo 貞女). Settei writes in the preface in volume 1 that he depicted women exemplifying these three virtues regardless of whether they lived in ancient or modern times.

The three volumes in the Pulverer Collection have been bound into a modern case, and the names of the figures illustrated in each double-page opening are:

Volume 1: Empress Jingu (Jingu Kōgō 神功皇后); wife of Tamichi (Tamichi Tsuma 田道妻); Lady Kesa (Kesa Gozen 袈裟御前); the courtesan Kane (Yūjo Kane 遊女金); Lady Tokiwa (Tokiwa Gozen 常盤御前); wife of Toki Yorikazu (Toki Yorikazu Tsuma 土岐頼員妻); Lady Hangaku (Hangakujo 坂額女); Kōtō no naishi (匂當内侍); mother of Uryū Hangan (Uryū Hangan Haha 瓜生判官母); younger sister of Nara Sakon (Nara Sakon Imōto 奈良左近妹); and wife of Yoshimasa (Yoshimasa Shitsu 義政室).

Volume 2: Princess Kannatsuso (Kannatsusohime 神夏磯媛); Court Lady Yoshino (Yoshino Kanjo 吉野官女); wife of Kamata Masakiyo (Kamata Masakiyo Tsuma 鎌田政清妻); daughter of Kiichi hōgen (Kiichi Hōgen Musume 鬼一法眼娘); wife of Doi Sanehira (Doi Sanehira Tsuma 土肥実平妻); the shirabyōshi Shizuka (Shirabyōshi Shizuka jo 白拍子静女); Lady Tomoe (Tomoe jo 巴女); wife of Kusunoki Masashige (Kusunoki Masashige Shitsu 楠正成室); Court Lady Iga (Iga no Tsubone 伊賀局); mother of Lord Kōda (Kōda Uji Haha 幸田氏母); and wife of Suwabe Sadakatsu (Suwabe Sadakatsu Tsuma 諏訪部定勝妻).

Volume 3: wife of Katana (Katana Tsuma 形名妻); mother of Yamanouchi Tsunetoshi (Yamanouchi Tsunetoshi Haha 山内経俊母); Kisegawa Kamegiku (喜瀬川亀菊); Tara no Masako (平政子); wife of Lord Nagai (Nagai Uji Tsuma 永井氏妻); mother of Nasu Gorō (Nasu Gorō Haha 奈須五郎母); wife of Shimizu Kōzuke (Shimizu Kōzuke Tsuma 清水上野妻); wife of Lord Torii (Torii Uji Tsuma 鳥井氏妻); daughter of Yūki Sashichirō (Yūki Sashichirō Musume 結城佐七郎娘); daughter of Sasaki Ganryū (Sasaki Ganryū Musume 佐々木巌流女); and mother of Kintoki (Kintoki Haha 公時母).

Ehon misaogusa features a variety of female figures, both from history and legend, ranging from Empress Jingu (ca. 201–269) to the mother of Sakata Kintoki (坂田金時). [1] Settei’s fluid use of line results in powerful images that capture the viewer’s gaze with their intensity and sense of movement. This is particularly seen in the forceful portrayal of brave women skilled in battle such as Princess Kannatsuso, who vanquished the Earth Spider (tsuchigumo 土蜘蛛), and Kiso no Yoshinaka’s concubine, Tomoe Gozen. It is also noteworthy that the release of the original work in 1757 corresponded with the development of a Settei style of bijinga (pictures of beautiful women) characterized by long faces and rounded female forms.

The release of this retitled work in 1766 indicates that Ehon misaogusa was very popular. Other titles republished in revised versions in this year are Ehon jujin fujo kagami 絵本嬬人婦女鑑 (Picture-book of a mirror of women of the east; Nishio City Iwase Bunko) and Ehon eiyū retsujoden 画本英雄烈女伝 (Picture-book of the tales of brave women warriors; National Diet Library, Tokyo).

書名　　画本操草
執筆者山本ゆかり

宝暦7年（1757）に刊行された月岡雪鼎の絵本『女武勇粧競』の改題再版本である。各巻頭には内題として「画本操草」と改題名が挙げられ、目録に賢女、烈女、貞女の名と故事が紹介される。上巻にある雪鼎自身の序によれば、三徳を兼ね備えた婦女を新古を選ばずに写したものだという。
内容を構成する人物名は以下のとおりである。

上巻＝神功皇后、田道妻、袈裟御前、遊女金、常盤御前、土岐頼員妻、坂額女、匂當内侍、瓜生判官母、奈良左近妹、義政室

中巻＝神夏磯媛、吉野官女、鎌田政清妻、鬼一法眼娘、土肥実平妻、白拍子静女、巴女、楠正成室、伊賀局、幸田氏母、諏訪部定勝妻

下巻＝形名妻、山内経俊母、喜瀬川亀菊、平政子、永井氏妻、奈須五郎母、清水上野妻、鳥井氏妻、結城佐七郎娘、佐々木巌流女、公時母

神功皇后から坂田金時の母まで多彩な女たちが登場するが、いずれも雪鼎の絵は力強く、伸びやかな線で女たちを描く。特に土蜘蛛を退治した神夏磯媛や木曽義仲の妾・巴御前など、武勇に長けた女たちを描く際の、動きのある迫力に満ちた描写が目を引く。初版が刊行された宝暦7年の段階で、雪鼎風のふっくらとした面長な美人画様式が成立していた点も注目される。

改題再版本の出版は、この絵本の人気がかなり高かったことを示唆している。『絵本嬬人婦女鑑（西尾市岩瀬文庫）、『画本英雄烈女伝』（国立国会図書館）も明和3年に刊行された改題再版本である。

Selected readings:
Yamamoto Yukari 山本ゆかり, Kamigata fūzokuga no kenkyū『上方風俗画の研究』(Tokyo: Geika Shoin, 2010), 106–8, 117–18, 237–42.

Copies in other collections:
Chiba City Museum of Art
Gunma University
Kagawa University
Kokugakuin High School, Tokyo
National Diet Library, Tokyo
Nishio City Iwase Bunko, Aichi Prefecture
Sanko Library, Tokyo
Tōhoku University, Sendai

[1] Sakata Kintoki is a character from Japanese folklore reportedly based on the real-life figure of Kintoki (公時), the last illustration in the third volume.