Mother's Short-Sleeved Kimono,
from the Righteous Samurai Collection, 1920
by Kikuchi Keigetsu
IHL Cat. #2247
Description
The twentieth print appearing in Volume 3 of Gishi taikan, edited by Fukumoto Nichinan.
On the first day of the twelfth month in 1702, Tominomori Suke’emon Masakata 富森助右衛門正因, one of the Righteous Samurai, accepted his mother's kosode (short-sleeved kimono) to wear under his clothing to protect him from the cold after death, as was done by warriors in days gone by to protect themselves from arrows on the battlefield. On December 14, the night of the revenge attack on Lord Kira Yoshinaka, he was one of the first gishi to enter Kira's mansion through the main door. After the deed was done, he was ordered by Ōishi Yoshio to go with Yoshida Chūzaemon 吉田忠左衛門 to report their actions to the bakufu's Inspector General Sengoku Hisanao and surrender. They would be joined by their fellow gishi to await the verdict of the shogunate.
Sources: website of Ako City https://akoinfo.com/akogisi/gisikojin/tomimorisukeemon.html; The Forty-Seven Rōnin: The Vendetta in History, John A. Tucker, Cambridge University Press, 2018, p. 110-111.
Print Details
click on image to enlarge artist signature and seals
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Tribute Preceding Print by
Hasegawa Kōdō
長谷川孝道 [Hasegawa Yoshimichi 長谷川好道]
(1850-1924),
Field Marsahl Imperail Army Commander and Japanese Governor General of Korea
from Volume 3 of Gishi Taikan
image source: The Early Japanese Book Portal Database, Art Research Center AkoRH-R0419-3
click on image to enlarge
Print Commentary from Volume 3 of Gishi Taikan
母の小袖
image source: The Early Japanese Book Portal
Database, Art Research Center AkoRH-R0419-3
Artist Profile
Kikuchi Keigetsu 菊池契月 (1879-1955)
Kikuchi Keigetsu was born in 1879 the son of a village official in Nagano Prefecture. His name at birth was Hosono Kanji 細野完爾. In 1892, at the age of 13, he began studying nanga painting with Kodama Katei 児玉果亭 (1841-1913) in Kyoto. In 1896, he continued his studies in Tokyo, eventually enrolling in the private studio of master painter Kikuchi Hobun 菊池芳文 (1862-1918), whose daughter he married in 1906. Keigetsu gained attention in the years before World War I when several of his works won awards at prominent exhibitions, including the Bunten. He began to emerge as a major nihonga artist, known for his austere imagery, exacting use of line, and preference for historical themes.
For more information on this artist go to Kikuchi Keigetsu 菊池契月 (1879-1955).