Yaoya Oshichi and Koshô Kichisaburô (Yaoya Oshichi and Koshô Kichisaburô)

Medium:: Woodblock print
Format:: Oban
Source:: Art Institute of Chicago

Typical Price

Exceptional or rare subject in excellent condition: $5,000–$30,000
Good condition authenticated original: $1,500–$8,000
Standard impression, average condition: $500–$3,000

Description

This print depicts Yaoya Oshichi and Kosho Kichisaburo — the famous tragic lovers whose story became one of the defining romances of Edo-period popular culture. Oshichi was the young daughter of a greengrocer who fell in love with a temple page Kichisaburo during a fire; she later set fire to her own house hoping to return to the temple and see him again, and was executed for arson. Her story, dramatized by Ihara Saikaku and in kabuki, was among the most beloved of the period's tragic narratives.

More Prints by Kitagawa Utamaro

A Low Class Prostitute (Gun [teppo]), from the series “Five Shades of Ink in the Northern Quarter" ("Hokkoku goshiki-zumi")

c. 1794/95

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Woman Holding a Fan (from the series Ten Aspects of the Physiognomy of Women)

c. 1793

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Akashi of the Tamaya, from the series Seven Komachis of Yoshiwara (Seiro nana Komachi) (Tamaya uchi Akashi, Uraji, Shimano)

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Hour of the Tiger (Tora no koku = 4 AM) from the series Twelve Hours in Yoshiwara (Seirô jûni toki tsuzuki), Late Edo period, circa 1794

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More Figures Prints

Shamyris, Shôwa period, dated 1965?

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Celebrating the Good Harvest: Felicitations for a Thousand Ages (Nôhônen, Chiyo no kotobuki)

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Midas, Shôwa period, dated 1965?

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Gundari Myôô, Shôwa period, dated 1962

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Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Bijin-ga: Japanese Beauty Prints

Frequently Asked Questions

Yaoya Oshichi and Koshô Kichisaburô (Yaoya Oshichi and Koshô Kichisaburô) was created by Kitagawa Utamaro (喜多川歌麿).

Yaoya Oshichi and Koshô Kichisaburô (Yaoya Oshichi and Koshô Kichisaburô) depicts figures, bijin-ga, and portraits.