Chikanobu - Album - 24 paragons of Filial Piety

 Ukiyo-e album - Chikanobu’s 24 paragons of Filial Piety

Toyohara Chikanobu (1868-1912)

Published by Fukuda Hatsujiro c1890

Complete Oban album with 24 images and title page.

Album 35 x 24cm approx

Silk board covers to accordion album.  The images are vividly designed with bright colours, lively scenes, and a wealth of detail.  Each image shows a lady in a Japanese setting with a second inset image giving a backdrop to the story.  Very good condition – images backed in album.

This celebrated series of filial piety describes the devotion of children to their parents, and was often used to promote Confucian values. The text is attributed to Guo Jujing (1260-1368) and was hugely popular throughout Asia including Japan. Guo had lost his father at a young age and selected 24 stories from history which he felt reflected exemplary examples of filial piety.

Many of the themes show children performing actions of sacrifice and deep devotion to their parents, actions which were often rewarded by the gods. In one example, a 14 year old daughter (Yang Xiang) bravely saves her father from a tiger attack, while in another a son gave up his work to search for his long lost mother. In the most extreme example a son decides to bury himself alive to save his family from financial peril, but as he is digging he finds gold which allows the family to escape poverty.