Original Japanese Woodblock Print – Utagawa Kuniyoshi – Awa no Jūrōbei – Skillfully Tempered Blades – Edo 1848

Traditional Ukiyo-e print, woodblock print. [This print is not a modern reproduction]

Print type: Musha-e (dramatic warrior print)

🎨 Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川 国芳
(signed: Ichiyûsai Kuniyoshi ga 一勇斎国芳画)

📅 Publication date: 1847–1848 (late Edo period)

📜 Publisher: Iseya Ichibei 伊勢屋市右衛門
(renowned publisher active in the 1840s, close to Kuniyoshi)

Censor seal: Mera 米良 and Murata 村田

📏 Format: O-Ban Tate-e (approx. 25 × 37.2 cm)

Origin: Japan, discovered in Nara prefecture.

📌 Series title:
鏗鏘手練鍛の名刄 (Skillfully Tempered Sharp Blades)
"Famous blades forged with virtuosity"

⚔️ Depicted sword:
Katana attributed to Rai Kunitsugu 来国次 – swordsmith from the Kamakura period (12th–14th century).
This sword is among the great classic Japanese blades: refined tempering, balanced sharpness, it embodies the rigor of the smith as much as the nobility of destiny.

Subject:

This dramatic print illustrates the character of Awa no Jūrōbei, a tragic figure from Bunraku and Kabuki theater, in the play Keisei Awa no Naruto (傾城阿波の鳴門).

A former samurai fallen from grace, Jūrōbei lives in hiding. Separated from his daughter Otsuru for years, he encounters her without recognizing her as she begs at his door. In a poignant scene, he suspects her of being a spy and brutally abuses her, grabbing her by the collar.

Kuniyoshi captures this tragic moment with striking dramatic intensity: the father is unaware that he is assaulting his own daughter.

Notable details:

• The expression of Jūrōbei, jaw clenched around a piece of cloth, expresses both the violence of the act and his own inner pain.
• Otsuru, in a blue kimono adorned with flowers, is depicted in a fleeing posture, face terrified: a figure of sacrificed innocence.
• The sword visible at the father's belt is both a decorative accessory and a silent symbol of the inflexibility of fate — a direct echo of the series' theme on swords.

Condition:

Original period print in good condition.
➕ Well-preserved original colors, no paste-ups.
➖ Discreet creases visible on the paper, and slight traces.

🦝 Our opinion:

This work is one of the most poignant prints in the entire Skillfully Tempered Sharp Blades series. It doesn't just illustrate a legendary sword — it stages the blind brutality of a destiny forged by exile, shame, and broken loyalty.

The sword of Rai Kunitsugu, invisible but evoked in the series, finds its reflection here in Jūrōbei's attitude: tempered in pain, unknowingly cutting down what is dearest to him.

The composition is tense, the gazes moving, the fabrics detailed with remarkable finesse.
It is a rare, striking work of great emotional power, testifying to Kuniyoshi's art of transcending theater into pictorial tragedy.

Kuniyoshi is renowned for his dynamic compositions and spectacular scenes. Explore other original prints in our collection of Japanese prints.