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. 18, Yu Qianlou: with Deep Concern for His Father - Attractive image of a young beauty praying outside a temple or shrine. She crouches with her hands clasped, bowing her head respectfully, as pigeons perch on the stone lantern behind and one bird pecks at the ground. She wears a pretty lavender striped kimono patterned with white blossoms and flowing tie-dyed water in darker purple, tied with a red brocade obi. The inset above illustrates the tale of Yu Qianlou (Yu Kenru in Japanese), who suddenly felt worried that something was wrong, and after resigning his job as magistrate, hurried home to find his father extremely ill. A physician advised him to taste his father's feces; if it was bitter, he would live, but if it tasted sweet, there was no hope. Qianlou did as instructed and found the taste sweet, so he prayed that the gods would take him instead of his father. He was praised for his selflessness and his devotion to his father. Includes burnishing on the black lacquer finials and trim on the railings.

Artist - Chikanobu (1838 - 1912)

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

Condition - This print with nice color and detail as shown. Small loss and a couple small tears at edges, repaired. Wrinkling throughout. Please see photos for details.