Itabana: Ushiwakamaru Fencing with the Tengu at Mt. Kurama, no. 15 from the series The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidō

“The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidō” refers to the series of rest stops on the mountain road from Kyoto to Edo, modern Tokyo. Most often used by printmakers to portray scenic landscapes at the stops, Kuniyoshi made the series into something very different. He used the names of the stops as inspiration for subjects from history and folklore, often based on clever puns.

Here, the legendary hero Yoshitsune, known in his youth as Ushiwakamaru, is shown learning the secrets of sword fighting from the tengu. He seems to be winning, as the tengu grab their noses in pain. But here is the pun: the name of the Kisokaidō stop, Itahana, sounds like the Japanese words for “ouch!” (itai 痛い) and “nose” (hana 鼻).