40-The Story of Kagekiyo Part 7 (Santo Kyoden's Kibyoshi 1)

Recently, I have been writing about stories created in later generations featuring the Heike samurai general Fujiwara (Ito) Kagekiyo (dance dramas, Ningyo Joruri/Kabuki, and Rakugo), but I have found yet another Kagekiyo-themed work, this time in a Kibyoshi by Santo Kyoden.
"Akushichi Henme Kagekiyo" (also known as "Akushichi Henme Kagekiyo") was written and illustrated by Kyoden in 1786, according to the "Santo Kyoden Zenshu" (Vol. 1, Kibyoshi 1, Perikansha, published 1992), and published by Tsutaya Juzaburo. It consists of two volumes (upper and lower) in the chubon size, totaling ten leaves. Chubon refers to the book size, approximately 19cm tall by 13cm wide, and ten leaves likely refers to ten stories (10 double-page spreads).
The photos introduced above were borrowed from this complete collection; from the right, they show the cover (upper volume), the first page, and the final page. On the far right of the final page, it is written "Illustrated by Masanobu" and "Written by Santo Kyoden." "Masanobu" refers to Kitao Masanobu, which was Kyoden's art name (his teacher was Kitao Shigemasa). It is said that Kyoden initially called himself "Yamahigashi," but because those around him called him "Santo," he eventually began using "Santo" himself.

Speaking of Kyoden, he is a popular Kibyoshi author currently appearing in the NHK Taiga drama "Berabo." As the era of Tanuma Okitsugu came to an end and Matsudaira Sadanobu launched various austerity measures (the so-called "Kansei Reforms," circa 1787–1793) to try and resolve the shogunate's financial difficulties, a storm of regulation blew through the world of Kibyoshi as well. Kyoden seems to have been subjected to fines (1790) and house arrest (1791), but since this work was created a year before those reforms and its content does not mock Sadanobu, it likely did not cause any trouble.

When I searched online for Kibyoshi featuring Kagekiyo, I found nearly 20 works just from a quick look, including "Kagekiyo Hyakunin Isshu" (written by Meiseido Kizan, illustrated by Kitao Shigemasa, published by Tsutaya Juzaburo, 1782), "Kanzanji Daikoku Denki" (written and illustrated by Koikawa Harumachi, 1783), and "Musume Kagekiyo Boro Furisode" (written by Kyoden, illustrated by Katsukawa Shunsen, published by Izumiya Ichibei, 1811). There are likely even more. Most feature the pair of Kagekiyo and Hatakeyama Shigetada, who investigates him, and it is said that Kagekiyo's face was drawn to resemble that of Ichikawa Danjuro V, who was the definitive actor for the role of "Kagekiyo" at the time. There were also many stories where Soga-mono and Kagekiyo were mixed together. Kagekiyo was clearly very popular.
Since it would be an enormous task to examine them one by one 😆, I will introduce "Akushichi Henme Kagekiyo" next time.