16. Michizane composes a poem by moonlight
Sugawara no Michizane (845-903 AD) was a courtier who was posthumously deified as Tenjin, the god of music, literature, and calligraphy. At age eleven, he composed the following poem in classical Chinese form: “The moon glimmers like bright snow, and plum blossoms appear like reflected stars - Ah! The golden mirror of the moon passes overhead as fragrance from the jade chamber fills the garden.” (printed January 1886)
Ещё из относительно или хотя бы косвенно знакомых персонажей и ситуаций - под катом. Наверно, добрая половина серии набралась ))) Так что траффик. Всё спёрто
отсюда, за качество сканов и истинность комментариев я не в ответе.
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25. Gravemarker moon (Sotoba no tsuki)
Ono no Komachi, a famous beauty and poetess of the 9th century, is seated on a fallen stupa (a gravemarker dedicated to Buddha). This may be the scene from the Noh play Sotoba Komachi (Stupa Komachi) in which two priests ask themselves: "Is this Komachi that once was a bright flower - Komachi the beautiful, whose dark brows linked like young moons - Her face white-farded ever - Whose many, many damask robes filled cedar-scented halls?" Komachi is depicted looking at the moon, and wearing a damask robe that heavily contrasts with her battered straw hat. (printed March 1886)
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27. Moon at the Yamaki Mansion (Yamaki yakata no tsuki)
Kato Kagekado was a retainer of Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147-1199 AD). In this episode from the Heike monogatari Yoritomo has sent Kagekado to the mansion of Taira no Kanetaka at Yamaki, with the mission to assassinate him. Kagedo tricks Kanetaka into striking at his helmet, and then kills him. (printed March 1886)
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28. Chikubushima moon (Chikubushima no tsuki)
In another episode from the Heike monogatari, Taira no Tsunemasa visites the shrine of the goddess Benten on Chikubu Island one evening in the 1180s, and plays the biwa so beautifully that the goddess appears and promises him victory over the Minamoto clan. Unfortunately Tsunemasa himself dies in the battle. (printed March 1886)
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29. The Yugao chapter from “The Tale of Genji” (Genji yugao maki)
The ghost of Yugao, one of Prince Genji's conquests, floats above a trailing vine bearing the moonflowers (yugao) after which she is named. Yugao died at the age of 19 during a secretive romantic night with Genji, supposedly cursed by the ghost of a jealous rival. This stunning design was known in Europe, and has no doubt influenced the Art Nouveau movement. (printed March 1886.)
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30. The moon through a crumbling window (Haso no tsuki)
Bodhidharma (Daruma in japanese), the founder of Zen Buddhism, was the son of an Indian king. He meditated for nine years before he became enlightened. The years gone by are represented by the crumbling, vine-clad walls. The moon shining trough the cave window is an allusion to enlightenment. Daruma is said to have lost the use of his legs after spending nine years in his cave, and is nowadays best known in Japan as a limbless, usually red-suited, self-righting doll. Daruma dolls are a symbol of optimism, good fortune and strong determination. (June 1886)
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36. Takakura moon (Takakura no tsuki)
After having plotted against Taira no Kiyomori in the year 1180, and having been found out, Prince Mochihito - brother of the deposed emperor Takakura - and his companion Munenobu flee from the Takakura mansion disguised in women's traveling costumes. However, the main character of this scene is Hasebe no Nobutsura, Mochihito’s retainer, who has helped them escaping. Nobutsura, was captured, but refused to reveal the prince's whereabouts even under torture. Nobutsura survived, and became Lord of Noto province after the Taira had been defeated in 1185. (printed August 1886)
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39. Inamura Promontory moon at daybreak (Inamurgasaki no akebono no tsuki)
In 1333 AD, general Nitta no Yoshisada finds the route to the Hojo stronghold in Kamakura blocked by the Inamura cliffs and an enemy fleet of warships. He offers prayers and his treasured sword to the sea gods, and asks them safe passage for his army. The tide recedes considerably, causing a corresponding retreat of the army fleet, and creating a passage way to the vulnerable sea side of Kamakura castle. The castle is taken, and emperor Go-Daigo restored. (printed September 1886)
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40. The Moon of the Milky Way (Ginga no tsuki)
According to Chinese legend, the constellations known in the West as Aguila and Lyra represent the lovers Niu Lang (Cowherd) and Zhi Nu (Weaving Girl). They were separated by the Emperor of Heaven and placed at different ends of the Milky Way. They are only allowed to meet on the seventh evening of the seventh month of each year. A celebrating of the lovers’ meeting is the subject of the yearly Tanabata Festival. (printed September 1886)
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44. Akazome Emon viewing the moon from her palace chambers
Akazome Emon (956-1041 AD) was a celebrated woman poet at the Heian court. She served in the household of Fujiwara no Michinaga, the prime minister of the day, and father-in-law of several emperors, and she is considered to have been the main author of the Eiga Monogatari, the Fujiwara family history. Here she is portrayed at her doorstep, after a long, sleepless night, awaiting her lover who has failed to show up. Her poem reads: “I wish I had gone to bed immediately - but now the night has passed and I watch the moon descend.” (probably printed in 1887)
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45. Hazy-night moon (Oboroyo no tsuki)
A masked Noh actor performs the role of the robber Kumasaka no Chohan - a scarf tied round his head and carrying a long pike - who was killed in 1174 when his band unwisely attacked the young Minamoto no Yoshitsune at Akasaka. There is no moon visible in the print, and the title reminds us of the scene in which Kumasaka argues: "The moon does not rise till dawn tonight; and even when she rises, she will be covered." This version was printed 6 January 1887. The insert shows a more common (later?) version with a dark blue background.
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46. Bon Festival Moon (Bon no tsuki)
Villagers dance in the moonlight during the annual Bon festival, when the spirits of the departed ancestors are supposed to return to earth to be fed and entertained. It is a happy festival, that is held every year during the full moon of July, and a typical dance consists of groups of people that move in circles on incidental music. The image reminds us somewhat of the dancers that Henri Matisse painted two decades later, and Stevenson* also points at the almost impressionistic effect of the Shoji style used by Yoshitoshi in this design. (published February 1887)
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47. Kinto picks a plum branch in the moonlight
Fujiwara no Kinto (966-1041), aka Shijo-dainagon, was a poet that was highly admired by his contemporaries. He was also a musician, a scholar, and a Heian court official. Snow has fallen on the buildings of the imperial palace during the night, and Kinto has gone out into the moonlit courtyard to pluck and admire a flowering plum branch. His verse reads: "In the midst of glimmering whiteness, among the night’s moon shadows - I part the snow and pluck plum blossoms."
(published January 1887)
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50. The moon and the helm of a boat (Daro no tsuki)
After been defeated by Yoshitsune in the sea batle of Dannoura in 1185, the young emperor Taira no Kiyotsune - grandson of Taira no Kiyomori, who stood at the basis of the feud between the Taira and the Minamoto - throws himself from his ship and commits suicide. In the Noh play "Kiyotsune", he returns to his wife as a ghost, and tells her in dance and song about the final moments of his life. This is probably what Yoshitoshi refers to in this design. In a different, but not unrealistic account, as the young emperor is only 8 years of age, it is Kiyotsune's mother Antoku who takes the child in her arms and jumps into the sea. (printed June 1887)
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51. Lady Gosechi (Gosechi no myobu)
Several elements in this design point at gone-by wealth, notably the torn tapestry, and the battered blinds. The woman playing the koto is dressed as a nun. Her two visitors wear Heian court costumes. They are moved, either by her music, or the state they find her in, or perhaps both. (printed June 1887)
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53. Sumiyoshi full moon (Sumiyoshi no meigetsu)
On a vigil at the Sumiyoshi Shrine in Settsu, south of the present Osaka, the poet-courtier Fujiwara no Sadaie (Lord Teika) fell asleep. Sumiyoshi no Kami, who is worshipped as the patron of poetry, appeared to him in a dream. According to the Noh play Haku Rakuten, Sumiyoshi was instrumental in saving Japanese poetry from Chinese dominance. Near the end of the play, Sumiyoshi makes a strong wind blow the visiting Chinese poet Rakuten’s ship back to his country. Teika (1162-1241) is one of the four greatest Japanese poets, and the composer of several anthologies of Japanese poetry, among which the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, the “Little Treasury of One Hundred Poets One Poem Each” (printed June 1887.)
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58. Does the cuckoo too announce its name from above the clouds?
Minamoto no Yorimasa (1106-1180) made his fame when he shot a mythological nue-monster that was disturbing the Emperor, and was given a sword, and Lady Shobu for a wife. At the rewarding ceremony a cuckoo calls, and Minister Yorinaga asks: "Does the cuckoo too announce its name from above the clouds?" Yorimasa replies: "I only bent my bow, and the arrow shot itself." The insert shows a 1884 Chikanobu print that is crowded with all actors, including the cuckoo, the nue, and Lady Shobu. (March 1888)
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60. Received back into Moon Palace (Gekkyo no mukae)
In this scene from the Taketori monogatari (Tale of the Bamboo Cutter), an old bamboo cutter watches in awe as heavenly messengers lead the girl he adopted and raised, Princess Kaguyahime, daughter of the Moon Queen, back to her home. (published March 1888)
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64. Nakamaro views the moon in China
Abe no Nakamaro (701-770) was the son of a high court official, who at the age of 16 was sent to China to study timekeeping and the Chinese calendar. By the whim of fate he remained there until he died. The poem is thought to express his homesickness for Japan: “Now I lift my gaze to the high plain of heaven, I see the moon that rose at Kasuga over Mount Mikasa!" The kite-shaped impression in the centre was rubbed over from the blue sections of Lady Ariko's biwa in print #38, that was once was mounted in an album opposite our print. (printed May 1888)
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67. Joganden moon (Joganden no tsuki)
The princely courtier Minamoto no Tsunemoto (894-961 AD) was known for his poetry, but was also a skilled archer. One night in 932 near Joganden, a building in the Kyoto palace garden, he supposedly shot a demonic deer that was about to attack the Emperor. He also played an important part in suppressing Taira no Masakado's rebellion against the Emperor, for which he received the title Chinjufu-Shogun (Commander of the Garrison). (December 1888)
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68. Moon of the Southern Sea (Nankai no tsuki)
Kwanyin, the Bodhisattva of mercy and compassion, is known as Kannon in Japan, and as Avalokitesvara in India. Here she is seated in meditation on the island of Potalaka, off the south coast of India. (published 1888)
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69. Seson temple moon (Sesonji no tsuki)
Fujiwara no Yoshitaka (953-974 AD) meditates in the grounds of Seson temple outside Kyoto, to where he had retreated because he didn't want to overshadow his elder brother. Yoshitaka was a captain of the imperial guards at the Heian court and an accomplished poet. His work can be found in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets) supposedly selected by Lord Teika (1162-1241). (printed 1888)
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71. Ishiyama moon (Ishiyama no tsuki)
Lady Murasaki is usually pictured in a violet robe (murasaki may be translated as "violet", or "purple", or "lavender"), sitting at her writing table in Ishiyama Temple, and looking out over Lake Biwa under a full moon. Yoshitoshi chooses a similar setting, but substitutes a mountain landscape for the lake. Murasaki Shikibu is thought to be the author of the world’s first novel Genji monogatari ("The Tale of Genji"), of which chapter 4 is the subject of plate #29. The origin of her name, her parentage, and the dates of her birth and death are somewhat of a mystery. The novel was supposedly finished in 1004 AD. To date, her room can be admired in Ishiyama Temple near Kyoto, although its authenticity is debatable. (printed October 1889)
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72. Mount Miyaji moon (Miyajiyama no tsuki)
After the Hogen Rebellion in 1156, the courtier Fujiwara no Moronaga (1137-1192) was briefly exiled to the island of Shikoku. That autumn he consoled himself with a visit to Mount Miyaji where, while playing his biwa, a suijin or water goddess appeared. (published November 1889)
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78. Rainy moon (Uchu no tsuki)
When the Emperor Go-Daigo was captured by the Hojo family and exiled in 1331, his retainer Kojima Takanori followed the convoy disguised as a farmer. One rainy night he carved a message in a cherry tree that only the Emperor would understand. For that purpose he used a Chinese poem referring the the abduction of a Chinese emperor who was eventually liberated by a loyal follower. Go-Daigo saw the message, and gained courage from it. (published in 1889)
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86. Rendezvous by moonlight
The courtier Taira no Tadanori (1144-1184) is the brother of Taira no Kyomori, who started the feud with the Minamoto. Tadanori died in the fight over Ichi no Tani castle, shortly before the Taira family was definitively destroyed in the year 1185. Here he stands one moonlit night near his mistress’s chambers, supposedly signaling his presence with audible clicks of his fan, while waiting for her to get rid of a female visitor. They are reminded of a poem by Horikawa no Yorimune: "How clamorous are the voices of insects in the fields - despite my passion, I long for you in silence." (printed October 1890)
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94. Moon on the Sumida River
In a scene from the Kabuki play Sumidagawa ("The Sumida River"), Mizuki Tatsunosuke (1673-1745), a famous onnagata - a male actor who specializes in female roles - admires the cherry trees at Sekiya. The poem reads: "Cherry trees blossom by the Sumida River - boats fade from view in the gathering dusk at Sekiya as I view the moon." (printed June 1891)
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97. The moon and the abandoned old woman (Obasute no tsuki)
A scene from the Noh play Obasuteyama i.e. "The mountain where the old woman was left to die". According to Japanese folklore, peasant families in certain regions abandoned elderly family members that had become a nuisance, and left them in the wilderness to die from starvation or exposure. Obasuteyama is also used as a symbol of self-sacrifice by the elders. A similar theme can be found in the 1983 movie Narayama Bushiko (“The Ballad of Mount Nara”) by Shohei Imamura. Yoshitoshi depicts a young man carrying an old woman up a mountain. Their path crosses a large pine tree, usually a symbol for long and healthy life. (published 1891)
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99. Saga Moor moon (Sagano no tsuki)
In the Noh play "Kogo", the heroine Kogo no Tsubone (1159-1180) is a beautiful and accomplished koto player, and a concubine of Emperor Takakura. When her life is threatened by Taira no Kiyomori, because an eventual son would endanger the position of the Taira clan, she flees to a remote cottage in Saga. This scene illustrates the moment when Minamoto no Nakakuni, who was sent by the emperor to find her, recognizes her koto playing, and draws out his flute to answer her music. (printed 1891)
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100. Farmers celebrating the autumn moon
Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan, and the recognized master of the Haiku. He made a living as a teacher, but renounced the social and urban life of the literary circles, and wandered throughout the country to gain inspiration for his writing. His poems are influenced by his firsthand experience of the world around him, often catching the feelings of a scene in a few simple elements. Here Basho is leaning on his staff when he encounters two farmers celebrating the mid-autumn moon festival. The Haiku reads: "Since the crescent moon, I have been waiting for tonight."
(printed 1891)