Ukiyo-e print

Colour woodblock print with black background. Partly embossed ukiyo-e print depicting a kabuki actor playing the role of Yaegaki-hime (Princess Yaegaki) in the popular five-act historical drama "Honchou Nijyushiko", 24 Models of Filial Piety. Two lines of black text run down the top left hand side of the print and is read from top to bottom and from right to left. Line one of the text reads "Honchou Nijyushiko", and line two reads "Yaegaki-hime". Princess Yaegaki is a well-known character in kabuki theatre and an important princess in Japanese folklore. Here she holds a helmet said to be blessed by the Suwa God so the wearer will always be the victor in battle. She carries it to her lover Takeda Katsuyori to protect him from pursuers. It is said she herself was protected by fox spirits whilst doing so, and the mysterious white background of this print possibly depicts this. The story of Yaegaki-hime has connections to print DP Temp 3985. The black text in the bottom right corner of the print reads "Sadanobu" and refers to the artist Hasegawa Sadanobu III (1881-1963), also known as Konobu III (artist name). The seal in the bottom right hand corner is of the Uchida Woodblock Printing Company in Kyoto.