Parody of the Legend of Xu You and Chao Fu
Okumura Masanobu Japanese
Not on view
In a highly amusing and complicated mitate version of this legend, Xu You appears as an embarrassed, two-timing Edo lover and Chao Fu as his reproachful mistress. He is washing out his ears in a desperate effort to convince her that he knows absolutely nothing of a letter from her rival. The letter discovered by the mistress is seen in the mouth of her cat. The classical allusion is veiled in the painted cascade that is part of the interior decor.
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