Poem by Lady Ukon: Shunkan

Poem by Lady Ukon: Shunkan is a 1845 woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi from the series Ogura nazora-e Hyaku-nin isshu, held by the Victoria and Albert Museum. Like other sheets in this celebrated collaboration with Hiroshige and Kunisada, the print pairs a verse from the Hyakunin Isshu anthology with a figural subject drawn from legend or the kabuki stage. Here the poem attributed to Lady Ukon is paired with the figure of Shunkan, the Buddhist priest exiled to the desolate island of Kikaigashima for his role in the failed Shishigatani plot against the Taira clan. Shunkan's lonely fate on the island, when his fellow conspirators are pardoned and he alone is left behind, has been one of the most affecting subjects in nō and kabuki for centuries. Kuniyoshi distils that pathos into a single figural composition, the exiled priest's hollow gaze and ragged costume contrasted with the elegance of the framing classical poem. Strong outline carving and well-balanced colour-printing reflect the high standards of mid-1840s Edo workshop production. The Victoria and Albert Museum's holdings of sheets from this series allow Poem by Lady Ukon: Shunkan to be studied alongside related contributions from Kuniyoshi and his collaborators, illustrating how Edo ukiyo-e brought together poetry, theatre, and historical legend within a single ambitious print project. As such, the design exemplifies the role of Kuniyoshi's warrior- and theatre-influenced designs within the wider literary print culture of the late Edo period.