Shimosa Province: Asakura Togo and Hitachi Province: Oguri's Wife Kohagi, from the series "Modern Scenes of the Provinces in Edo Brocades (Edo nishiki imayo kuni zukushi)"

Shimosa Province: Asakura Togo and Hitachi Province: Oguri's Wife Kohagi is an 1852 sheet by Utagawa Kuniyoshi from the series Modern Scenes of the Provinces in Edo Brocades (Edo nishiki imayo kuni zukushi). The Edo ukiyo-e series matched each historical province with a famous kabuki role tied either to local legend or to a play set in that area. Sakura Sogoro (here Asakura Togo) was the legendary peasant martyr from Shimosa Province who appealed directly to the shogun on behalf of his fellow villagers and was executed for the offense; his story was a staple of nineteenth-century kabuki and a politically charged emblem of injustice. Kohagi, wife of Oguri Hangan in the Oguri Hangan legend, is associated with Hitachi Province as part of the larger Oguri narrative cycle. Kuniyoshi, an Utagawa-school master best known for warrior prints, treats both figures with carefully observed costume and posture, building the design around facial likeness, signature props, and a cartouche identifying the province. The combined sheet, common in the series, reinforces the encyclopedic ambition of the project. Published in 1852, the print also reflects the heightened taste for politically resonant subjects channeled through theatrical reference. The Art Institute of Chicago preserves this impression (artworks/131663) within its substantial Kuniyoshi holdings. The print demonstrates how Edo ukiyo-e publishers used the format of provincial pairings to assemble politically and emotionally charged figures into a coherent set.