Title : Beauty Holding A Toy Cloth Monkey (Kukurizaru)

Artist : Furuyama Moromasa

Date : Late 1740s

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Source : Honolulu Museum of Art
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Description : The patterns on this young woman's kimono are all emblems of the medieval warrior Kajiwara Genta Kagesue. Genta was a protagonist in the 11/1749 Nakamura-za production of Otokomoji Soga Monogatari and it is tempting to suppose that the print may have been published at that time. The kukurizaru (cloth monkey toy) that the woman holds was a decoration for Boy's Day banners. The Kajiwara emblems on the kimono are all appropriate to this celebration as well. Kajiwara was in love with a young woman named Chidori who after his disinheritance became the courtesan Umegae. The print may also suggest an allusion to this story. A second version, almost identical with this print, shows an additional section on the left and a differently engraved signature (UZ, vol. 1, pl. 47).

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