Group 7 The Somber Scenes of the Yoshiwara

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This woodblock print by Torii Kiyonaga features a Michiyuki walk being performed in a theater by actors in a kabuki play. This print is part of a subgenre of prints called degatari-zu pictures of narrators appearance. The michiyuki walk in theaters were often the highlight reel of the couple's lives. Theatrical tales of regret, sorrow and self realization and awareness weaved together to create ordinary people into heroines and heroes for dying in what they believed in. Oftentimes these plays would be so emotionally charged viewers and actors alike would become inspired to commit shinju. This Led to shinju related works being heavily securitized and regulated by the shogunate. In addition, allegorical references to depression and death are left in the background such as the bush clover by the stage while the main focus would be on the actors and their performances which were often highly romanticized retellings of shinju stories.
This woodblock print by Suzuki Harunobu features a young woman with her head held low in a pensive and defeated manner holding on to a Bush Clover branch. The Bush Clover known as (HAGI) in Japan has been historically associated with melancholy and unrequited love. Coincidentally, autumn is when the Bush Clovers blooms and also represents the transition of life (summer) to death ( fall, winter), therefore signifying the scene we see here as the young women's decline in the will to live. The deep distress this young woman feels is heightened with her head and body shielded from the outside world with her outer garment (katsugi). In addition, her attendant shying away from her pain emphasizes the isolation one must feel when driven to commit shinju. Lastly the poem up top which talks about the woman's withered heart solidifies to viewers what is trying to be conveyed. Poem Translation: Bush Clover My heart is withered, even dew on the branches of bush clover is futile in the autumn evening.
This woodblock print by Suzuki Harunobu depicts a couple on their Michiyuki walk which would have been their last walk together as well as the actual journey to the place they will commit shinju. The umbrella or ai ai gasa which they are walking under represents their deep devotion to one another even in the face of death to continue their love for one another in the afterlife. Some interesting notes are that the two subjects are shown as equals which was very uncommon hence the culture during Edo period Japan made women almost like property. In addition the color scheme and garments have significant meaning portrayed in a subtle manner. The garments themselves including the headdresses look like traditional buddhist wedding garbs. Which creates an interesting juxtaposition knowing they will die yet it is a joyous occasion at the same time. Also the buddhist references also mean that the color white represents death and spiritually and physically they are both defying cultural norms set by the largely Neo Confucius shogunate at the time. Lastly, the winter scene can be interpreted as an allegory for death and also the first stage of shinju before they are reborn into the afterlife via the imagery of death as winter and rebirth as spring.
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Yadhira Ascencion- Bibliography

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