Twenty-four Selected Paragons of Filial Piety

(Mitate nijûshi kô, 見立廾四孝)

Publisher: Kakumoto-ya Kinjirô

1854-1855

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 (大舜, T’a Shun in Chinese) is being helped by elephants and birds cultivate his parents’ fields. Kabuki scene: actor Bandô Shûka I as Gaku no Kosan (かくの小三) standing next to an elephant holding a staff Date: 10^th month of 1855
	Paragon of filial piety: Ôshô (王祥, 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 (平次) 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 as Umeômaru (梅王丸) subduing two attackers 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 Kan no tsubone (くわんの局) and an unidentified actor as Kô no tsubone (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 (葛乃葉) peering into the water in the play Ashiya dauman ochi kagami Date: 10^th month of 1855
	Paragon of filial piety: Chûyû (仲由, Chung Yu in Chinese) carrying ice on his back for his parents Kabuki scene: Iwai Kumesaburô III as Narihira (なり平) and actor Bandô Shûka I as Nijô no tsubone (二條局) eloping Date: 10^th month of 1855
	Paragon of filial piety: Gomô (呉猛, Wu Mêng in Chinese) with smoking pot to keep mosquitoes away from his sleeping father Kabuki scene: Actor Ôtani Tomoemon IV as Isoguma (磯熊) fanning smoking fire at foot of actor Onoe Kikujirô II as Nishikigi (にしきゞ) Date: 6^th month of 1855
	Paragon of filial piety: Kôkaku (江革, Chiang Ko in Chinese) Kabuki scene: Actor Iwai Kumesaburô III as Hatsuhana (初花) pulling actor Nakamura Fukusuke I as her husband Matagorô (勝五郎) in a cart Date: 6^th month of 1855

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