
Having paired compositions of two wrestling actors on a vertical sheet of paper, Torii Keenobu introduces into the composition such movement and passion as before did not know the engraving. Many of the heroes of Kienobu, like it was in Kabuki, are semi-nude, and their whole body is made up in red – the color of fair rage and strength.
The actors are captured in the moment of the highest tension – the so-called “mie” culminating moments, specially designed for the spectator to fix their eyes on them.
What could be more attractive to the artist than such a pose? Heroes seem to say: look at us, what we are strong and mighty, how irreconcilable is our decisive battle. And the artist conveys the very essence of this pose.
To do this, he uses specially invented smears of “mimidzugaki” in the transmission of tensed muscles, the reception of “hetan-asi,” and the entire linear solution of the engraving testifies to the tension of each line and smear.
Irises in Horikiri by Ando Hiroshige
The moon above the cape by Utagawa Hiroshige
Lune au-dessus du cap – Ando Hiroshige
New Fuji in Meguro by Ando Hiroshige
Luna sobre el cabo – Ando Hiroshige
The villages of Minova, Kanasugi and Mikavasima by Hiroshige Ando
Plum Orchard in Camideau by Ando Hiroshige
Rainfall over the bridge of Ohashi and Atake district by Ando Hiroshige