Kunichika - Toji-awase Oden no Kanabumi

Toyohara Kunichika

This kabuki play was based on sensational stories about a woman named Takahashi Oden (ca.1848-1879). Oden gained media attention when she was arrested in 1876 under suspicion of cutting the throat of merchant Gotō Kichizō at an inn before fleeing the scene. Oden’s trial spanned nearly 3 years before she was convicted under the Meiji-era justice system. On January 31, 1879, she became one of the last persons in Japan to be officially executed by beheading. The kabuki play based on her story debuted in the Shintomi-za theatre in May of that year.

Publisher:Matsushita Heibei

Date: 1879

Condition: Great color and impression, not backed, 3 separate sheets.

Size: (L) 36.0 x 24.3(C) 36.0 x 24 (R) 36.0 x 24.3 cm

Thanks to: https://web.sas.upenn.edu/tressjapanese/2022/04/06/toji-awase-oden-no-kanabumi-%E7%B6%B4%E5%90%88%E6%96%BC%E4%BC%9D%E4%BB%AE%E5%90%8D%E6%9B%B8/