Another Edo Depicted by Kuniyoshi Utagawa
At the end of the Edo period, there is a series called "Goldfish Enumeration"(Kingyo - zukushi) released by the rare ukiyo - e artist Kuniyoshi Utagawa.What is depicted there is not goldfish swimming quietly in a bowl, but "goldfish residents" standing on two legs, laughing, being surprised, and enjoying daily life.
Edoite's "Freedom" Entrusted to Goldfish
Goldfish depicted by Kuniyoshi dance with hand towels on their heads during festivals, play hayashi(musical accompaniment) with frogs, sometimes play with soap bubbles, and go down the river on rafts.
This is not just a "cute illustration".It was a time when luxury and flashy entertainment were banned by the Shogunate's strict regulations (Tenpo Reforms). Kuniyoshi projected "the figure of Edoites" onto goldfish as a resistance to the cramped world where it was difficult to depict humans as they were. The figures of goldfish moving freely around the screen were like mirrors for the people of that time, shouting freedom on their behalf.
Inheritance of "Playfulness" Beyond Words
Looking at "Goldfish Enumeration", I cannot help but feel the same "funniness" as the world of Rakugo.Running away in a panic being chased by a cat, dancing with tadpoles.There is the spirit of Edo packed in there, cherishing living things not just as objects to gaze at, but as friends who have the same "weight and funniness of life" as themselves.
The rich expressions and humor of goldfish cut out by Kuniyoshi with a brush.That may be the origin of the "mysterious humanness" that we find in creatures called goldfish even if the times change.
"Utagawa Kuniyoshi: Goldfish Enumeration"(Catalog Material): Explanation of the series covering all 9 figures.The historical background leading to the personification of goldfish and the uniqueness of the design.
"Edo's Playfulness" Mitsutoshi Nakano(Iwanami Shinsho): Record of how painters squeezed their wisdom and protected freedom of expression under the Tenpo Reforms.
Katsumi Suzuki "Goldfish and Japanese"(Kodansha Academic Library, 2019): Consideration on how Kuniyoshi's paintings pushed the goldfish boom of that time to a cultural height.
