Tora Gozen (Lady Tiger)

Data

Tora Gozen (Lady Tiger)
Print   (Part of the set: Group of kuchi-e prints)

Takeuchi Keishu
Hakubunkan
1914

00038-006
https://mokuhankan.com/collection/index.php?id_for_display=00038-006

Print is Public Domain; Photography is:   Creative Commons License

Description

In this frontispiece, the courtesan Tora Gozen (also known as Oiso no Tora, Torajo, or O-tora) holds a flame, looking out into the night. Tora Gozen was a character (and possibly a real historical figure) who appeared in the Soga Monogatari ("The Revenge of the Soga Brothers" or "The Tale of the Soga Brothers"). In this print she is depicted with loose hair and lightly coloured lips in a romantic but also intriguing scene (what is she looking at? Why is she awake in the middle of the night?). The frontispiece is believed to have appeared in volume 20, issue 1 of Bungei Kurabu, published in Taisho 3 (1914).

The artist, Takeuchi Keishu (1861-1942), is most well-known for the proliferation of kuchi-e prints he designed in the Meiji period.

Another Search

Tomoe-Gozen's Departure
The Scent of Plum Blossoms