Twenty-four Selected Paragons of Filial Piety

(Mitate nijûshi kô, 見立廾四孝)

Publisher: Kakumoto-ya Kinjirô

1854-1855

The book entitled “The Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety” was written by the Chinese scholar Guo Jujing during the Yuan Dynasty. His pen-name was Yizi, and he is known in Japan as Kaku Kyokei. The book recounts the self-sacrificing behavior of twenty-four sons and daughters who go to extreme lengths to honor their parents, stepparents, grandparents, and in-laws. This series pairs scenes from kabuki plays with one of the twenty-four paragons of filial piety suggested by the scene. It is listed as number 170 in Kuniyoshi by Basil William Robinson (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1961). The prints are each about 14 by 10 inches (36 by 25 centimeters), a size known as ôban, and the total number of prints in the series is unknown.

	Paragon of filial piety: Taishun (T’a Shun in Chinese) is being helped by elephants and birds cultivate his parents’ fields. Kabuki scene: actor Bandô Shûka I standing next to an elephant holding a staff Date: 10^th month of 1855
	Paragon of filial piety: Ôshô (Wang Hsiang in Chinese) went to a frozen pond and lay naked on the ice until it melted in order to catch fish for his stepmother Kabuki scene: actor Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII as Heiji with a large straw hat looking down into the water from an outcropping on the bank Date: 10^th month of 1855
	Paragon of filial piety: Ôhô (王褒, Wang P’ou in Chinese) at his mother’s grave during thunder storms to comfort her spirit, because she had feared lightning while alive Kabuki scene: Actor Nakamura Fukusuke I (Nakamura Shikan IV) as Sadajin Shihei-ko subduing two attackers in the cart stopping scene from the play Sugawara denju tenarai kagama (The Secret of Sugawara’s Calligraphy) Date: 10^th month of 1855
	Paragon of filial piety: Rôraishi (老荘子, Lao Lai Tzu in Chinese) dressed and behaved like a young child to amuse his senile parents. Kabuki scene: Iwai Kumesaburô III as O-Miwa (おみわ) dancing before two malicious and homely ladies-in-waiting, Nakamura Kantarô as くわんの局 and an unidentified actor as こうの局, at the palace of Soga Iruka, in the kabuki play “Imoseyama onna teikin” (Imoseyama, an Example of Womanly Virtue). Date: 6^th month of 1855
	Paragon of filial piety: Kyôshi (姜詩, Chiang Shih in Chinese) about to catch fish for his aged mother Kabuki scene: Actor Bandô Shûka I as Kuzunoha kitsune peering into the water in the play Ashiya dauman ochi kagami Date: 10^th month of 1855
	Paragon of filial piety: Chûyû (Chung Yu in Chinese) carrying ice on his back for his parents Kabuki scene: Actors Bandô Shûka I as Komachi and actor Iwai Kumesaburô III as Narihira eloping Date: 10^th month of 1855
	Paragon of filial piety: Gomô (Wu Mêng in Chinese) with smoking pot to keep mosquitoes away from his sleeping father Kabuki scene: Actor Otani Tomoemon IV as villain fanning smoking fire at foot of actor Onoe Kikujirô II in female role Date: 6^th month of 1855
	Paragon of filial piety: Kôkaku (Chiang Ko in Chinese) Kabuki scene: Actor Iwai Kumesaburô III as Hatsuhana pulling actor Nakamura Fukusuke I (Nakamura Shikan IV) as her husband Iinuma Katsugorô in a cart, in a scene from Hakone reigen izari no adauchi Date: 6^th month of 1855

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