Wakana-hime from Shiranui monogatari ("The Tale of Shiranui")

Maker Utagawa Toyokuni III (Japanese, 1786 - 1864)

Date1853

PeriodEdo Period

CultureAsia, Japan

Place MadeJapan, Asia

MediumWoodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper

Dimensions36.6 x 25.2 cm (14 7/16 x 9 15/16 in.)

Credit LineGift of Charles Alvin Lisanby

Object number2018.1.8

On View

Not on view

Collections

HUM 252: Japanese Culture

InscribedTitle (yellow cartouche, right hand side): Wakana hime no hengen 若菜姫の變幻 The Strange Transformation of Princess Wakana Artist seal (yellow and red cartouche, left hand side): Toyokuni ga 豊国画 Nanushi censor seal: (upper left circle) Magomi Kangeyu Nanushi censor seal (second to left circle) Hama Yahei Zodiac seal: (right hand oval) 1st month of Ox year (1853) 丑正 Publisher mark (mountains and leaf crest): Tsutaya Kichizō

Label TextScene from the kabuki play Shiranui Monogatari しらぬひ譚 (The Tale of Shiranui), which was staged in the 2nd lunar month of 1853 in Edo at the Kawarazaki-za 河原崎座. The play tells the story of the young Princess Wakana, whose family was wiped out in a feud with another clan. She is rescued by a kindly spider and given the gift of spider magic. The plot tells of her vendetta to take revenge upon the clan who were the cause of her family’s downfall. In this scene, Wakana uses the magic of the spider scroll to conjure a tsuchigumo 土蜘蛛 ("earth spider") against Genkai Nadaemon, one of the warriors of the rival clan. Princess Wakana is given the power of spider magic by the Spirit of the Earth Spider. Here she is shown unfurling the magic scroll that conjures the spirit of the Earth Spider. The panel at left reads “Transformation of Princess Wakana”. The dominant figure in this print, Wakana, is a female figure standing right of center. Her right hand is upraised over her head, while her left grips the collar of her kimono. Her clothing is lavishly decorated with dramatic images of castle walls, mythological creatures, and florals with arabesques. The predominant colors are red, purple, and gold. Her hair is loose and flowing, and decorated with several large hair pins. The combination of this hairstyle and her obi tied in front suggests the appearance of a courtesan. The purple cloth covering the pate of the figure reveals that this figure is a kabuki actor playing a female role. In the figure’s mouth is a brocade scroll cover, presumably containing the magic scroll used to conjure the unseen tsuchigumo. A spider’s web radiates across the night sky in the background. The figure of a foot soldier can be seen at the far left of the print, tangled upside down in the web.

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