Teahouse Ichiriki in Kyoto

Label

Act 7: Yuranosuke at His Revels: Several subplots are resolved in this complex act, so that the vendetta can proceed. In the foreground, three of the loyal retainers arrive at the Ichiriki teahouse in Kyoto to consult with their leader, Yuranosuke. Yuranosuke was under constant surveillance by Moronao’s agents, who suspected he was plotting revenge. In order to erase all suspicion, Yuranosuke adopted the life of a drunkard, spending night after night pursuing the pleasures of Kyoto’s teahouses. In the middle ground, a blindfolded Yuranosuke carouses with waitresses of the Ichimonjiya. On the eve of the anniversary of Lord En’ya’s death, Moronao’s agents visited Kyoto to witness this debauchery firsthand and confirm, once and for all, that he no longer posed any threat to Moronao. Yuranosuke plays his role effectively as he dines with the spies, at one point even eating animal flesh, something a samurai would never do on the anniversary of his lord’s death. The "Letter Reading Scene" in the background provides this act’s highlight. As Moronao’s spies are about to leave, a letter from Lady Kaoyo arrives. Suspecting that the letter might reveal a plot, Kuday, the former retainer of En’ya and now one of Moronao’s henchmen, hides under the balcony, reading the tail end of the letter as Yuranosuke stands above. Okaru, Kampei’s wife and now an indentured employee of the Ichiriki, reads the letter from the second-floor balcony, using a small hand mirror to magnify the text. Yuranosuke is aware of Kuday ’s presence but has no weapon at hand. If he leaves to find his sword, Kuday will escape. When one of Okaru’s hairpins falls from the second floor, Yuranosuke sees a solution to his dilemma. He calls Okaru down, saying that he wants to redeem her contract with the teahouse so that she can return home. He asks her to wait a moment as he gathers his things. Kuday cannot escape while she is on the veranda above him. As Yuranosuke searches for his sword, the plot is further complicated by the arrival of Okaru’s brother, who informs her of Kampei’s death. On hearing the news, she takes her brother’s sword and attempts suicide. Yuranosuke returns at that very moment, removes the sword from her hand, and thrusts it through the veranda, killing Kuday.

From the 2019 exhibition Narratives in Japanese Woodblock Prints, guest curated by Allen Hockley, Associate Professor of Art History at Dartmouth

Course History

ARTH 62.3, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Winter 2019

ARTH 62.30/ASCL 62.12, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Spring 2022

Art History 62.30, Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages 62.12, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Spring 2023

Art History 62.30, Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages 62.12, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Summer 2023

Exhibition History

Narratives in Japanese Woodblock Prints, Class of 1967 Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 27-June 9, 2019.

Palmer Lounge Cases, Hopkins Center Art Galleries, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, October 1975.

Provenance

Dr. Frederick Ronald Mebel (1913-1998) and Claire E. Mebel (1916-1994); Rockville Center, New York; given to present collection, 1975.

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