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. 15, Zhu Shouchang: Resigning Office to Search for His Mother - Charming design of a young woman paying a visit to her mother. She smiles as she stops at the garden gate, leaning forward eagerly, happy to see her parent again. The mother looks out the window at her as she sits at a spinning wheel, a blossoming cherry tree framing the scene. The paragon above shows Zhu Shouchang (Shujusho in Japanese) meeting his elderly mother after having been separated from her for more than fifty years. At the age of seven, his grandmother sent him away because she was jealous of her daughter-in-law. After working as a government official for many years, he resigned office one day, determined to find his mother again and take care of her. After a long and difficult search and much suffering, they were finally joyfully reunited. An attractive design detailed with burnishing in the black kimono collars and obi.

Artist - Chikanobu (1838 - 1912)

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

Condition - This print with excellent color and detail as shown. Horizontal centerfold. Small thinning spot, repaired. Slight soiling, a few creases, faint ink smudge. Please see photos for details. Good overall.