Kuniyoshi - The Twenty-four Chinese Paragons of Filial Piety

Kuniyoshi Utagawa

Ō Kyō 黄香 (Huang Xiang), from the series "The Twenty-four Chinese Paragons of Filial Piety​​". This is print number 13 in the series.

Warming the blankets in the winter months
and fanning the pillows in summer to make them cool;
as a youth, he knows the duties of a child.
Since the ancient past, there has been only one Ō Kyō!

Ō Kyō was from a place called Anryō. He lost his mother when he was nine years old, after which he did all that he could to serve his father. Thus, in the extreme heat of summer, he would fan his father’s pillow and seat cushion to keep them cool, and in the bitter cold of winter, saddened by the chill of the blankets, he would warm them with his body before giving them to his father. Because Ō Kyō was so filial, the district governor—a person known as Ryū Kan 劉讙—set up a placard in praise of his filial piety. People say that from that time forward, everyone knew that Ō Kyō was an outstandingly filial child.

The book entitled The Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety was written by the Chinese scholar Guo Jujing during the Yuan Dynasty. His pen name was Yizi, and he is known in Japan as Kaku Kyokei. The book recounts the self-sacrificing behavior of twenty-four sons and daughters who go to extreme lengths to honor their parents, stepparents, grandparents, and in-laws. Many of the images in this series appear Western in style, rather than Japanese, and were probably copied from Italian prints.

Date: 1848 

Size: 10 1/4 x 7 1/4 in. (26 x 18.4 cm) 

Condition: Good color and impression, not backed, fold down center glue residue on back as shown.

Genre: Ukiyo-e

Medium: Original Woodblock Print

https://woodblockprints.org/index.php/Detail/objects/289