Ukiyoe Japanese Print

This print depicts Shizuka Gozen (静御前) (1165-1211) wearing the full dress of a shirabyôshi (白拍子), Japanese female performers who danced before Yoritomo no minamoto at Tsuru ga oka. It was made in 1841. Shizuka Gozen (静御前) (1165-1211), or Lady Shizuka, one of the most famous women in Japanese history and literature, was a shirabyōshi (court dancer, wearing male clothes during performances) of the twelfth century who was the mistress of Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Yoshitsune fled from Kyoto in 1185, after the Genpei War and following a disagreement with her brother Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun of Kamakura, she was captured and forced to dance and sing for the shogun. She will sing about her love for Yoshitsune there, which will make Yoritomo very angry. The end of her life is not very clear: she was murdered or committed suicide. She represents loyalty to her lover, Yoshitsune. Kuniyoshi Utagawa (1797-1861), 歌川国芳, Son of a silk dyer, he was born in 1797 under the name of Yoshizo. In his youth, he probably assisted his father by providing him with the designs for the pieces to be dyed, and thus naturally oriented himself towards the world of art. He was accepted as a student by Toyokuni Utagawa in 1814. Later, he founded his own school and his drawings became popular. Famous for his engravings of actors and animals (especially the cats he adored), he owes his inspiration above all to legends, to the fantastic, poetic and warlike universe of which we find a strong influence in his work. He is the author of 10,000 prints and several series. The great earthquake of 1855, after which, returning home late, he was given for dead by his family and the members of his workshop, marked the end of his great period. Suffering from illness and depression, he now produces little. He died in Edo in 1861.