No. 14, Wang Pou: Crying by the Grave When Thunder Rolled

by Chikanobu (1838 - 1912)

Current Status

No. 14, Wang Pou: Crying by the Grave When Thunder Rolled  by Chikanobu (1838 - 1912)

Original Chikanobu (1838 - 1912) Japanese Woodblock Print
No. 14, Wang Pou: Crying by the Grave When Thunder Rolled

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. 14, Wang Pou: Crying by the Grave When Thunder Rolled - Attractive portrait of a beauty caught by a sudden thunderstorm while strolling through the streets. She looks up with a smile under slanting raindrops as a bolt of orange lightening zig-zags across the sky. She holds the fluttering edges of her kimono together, her red under robe visible beneath the sheer fabric and peeking out at the edges. A few dogs play nearby and a rickshaw hurries in the opposite direction. The paragon depicted at upper right shows Wang Pou (Oho in Japanese) kneeling at his mother's grave during a thunderstorm. She was always frightened by storms when alive, so he determined to comfort her spirit at the graveside, here clasping his hands in prayer next to a stone marker. A handsome design from this rarely seen series, with fine bokashi shading in the sky.

Artist - Chikanobu (1838 - 1912)

Image Size - 13 3/8" x 8 5/8" + margins as shown

Condition - This print with excellent color and detail as shown. Faint toning at edges, a few small spots in margin, faint crease at top edge. Please see photos for details. Nice overall.

No. 14, Wang Pou: Crying by the Grave When Thunder Rolled  by Chikanobu (1838 - 1912)
No. 14, Wang Pou: Crying by the Grave When Thunder Rolled  by Chikanobu (1838 - 1912)

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