Eguchi no kimi　江口の君

KEY WORD :　art history / paintings

The name of a courtesan from the Eguchi 江口 area of northern Settsu 摂津 (now Osaka) immortalized in the biography of the priest Saigyou 西行 (1118-1190 ; see *saigyou monogatari-e 西行物語絵) and the subject of a *nou 能 play. On his way to Tennouji 天王寺, Saigyou stops at an inn in the brothel district of Eguchi. His request for a room is refused by the mistress of the house and Saigyou responds with a poem arguing that because he, as a priest, has "given up" the world, she should "give up" a room for him. The courtesan counters with a poem suggesting that as a monk Saigyou is not attached to the world and thus should not become attached to her inn. This exchange of poems replete with sexual and religious innuendo is the basis for the nou play EGUCHI 江口 by Kan'ami 観阿弥 (1333-84) in which the courtesan Eguchi is a manifestation of *Fugen 普賢. In painting Eguchi is usually represented sitting on a white elephant, the vehicle of Fugen; the priest Saigyou is sometimes included in the scene. A silk hanging-scroll by Maruyama Oukyo 円山応挙 (1733-95), in the Seikadou Bunko 静嘉堂文庫 Art Museum, Tokyo, is an example of the theme, which was also popular with *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 artists.

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