No. 5, Dong Yang: He Sold Himself for His Father's Funeral

by Chikanobu (1838 - 1912)

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No. 5, Dong Yang: He Sold Himself for His Father's Funeral by Chikanobu (1838 - 1912)

Original Chikanobu (1838 - 1912) Japanese Woodblock Print
No. 5, Dong Yang: He Sold Himself for His Father's Funeral

Series; Juxtaposed Pictures of Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety

Chikanobu's Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety - The Chinese scholar Guo Jujing wrote the book "The Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Devotion" during the Yuan Dynasty. Inspired by the loss of his own parents, he scoured history for examples of the most respectful and devoted children. Alluding to the famous stories of the twenty-four children and their extraordinary devotion to their parents and relatives, Chikanobu's series juxtaposes the paragon in the upper panel with a more modern equivalent below. The artist plays off the old stories, offering serious parallels as well as lighthearted and humorous contrasts in the modern versions.

No. 5, Dong Yang: He Sold Himself for His Father's Funeral - Attractive image of a beauty working at a loom weaving cloth. She holds the shuttle in one hand as she looks out the window over her shoulder at a man plowing a field. She wears a leaf print apron over her gray kimono, the sleeves tied back with a red sash to keep them out of the way. A softly shaded blue cloth is wrapped protectively about her hair. The inset at upper left shows Dong Yang (Toei in Japanese), who indentured himself to a weaver to pay for his father's funeral. Soon after, he met a beautiful woman who wove enough silk to purchase his freedom within a month (or an hour according to some accounts). She then revealed herself as the Heavenly Weaver (Shokujo), who then returned to Heaven as her work had been done. Here, Dong Yang falls on his knees, lifting his clasped sleeves as he watches the goddess ascending into the sky on a bank of swirling clouds, a narrow sash fluttering around her. A charming subject, nicely detailed with embossing in the silk thread and burnishing in the black kimono collar.

Artist - Chikanobu (1838 - 1912)

Image Size - 13 1/4" x 8 3/4" + margins as shown

Condition - With excellent color and detail. Lightly toned in margins with faint spotting and soiling throughout. Slight rubbing along edges with a couple small holes, repaired from reverese. Please see photos for details. Nice overall.

No. 5, Dong Yang: He Sold Himself for His Father's Funeral by Chikanobu (1838 - 1912)
No. 5, Dong Yang: He Sold Himself for His Father's Funeral by Chikanobu (1838 - 1912)

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