Parody of the Legend of Xu You and Chao Fu

Okumura Masanobu's Parody of the Legend of Xu and Chao Fu, made around 1715, is a monochrome woodblock print. Masanobu has taken a story from ancient Chinese history, associated with moral integrity and the rejection of worldly power, and recast it as a comic encounter between an Edo-period lover and his mistress. The intellectual foundation of this print is an Chinese legend concerning two reclusive sages, Xu you and Chao Fu. According to the traditional story, the sage Xu You was offered the throne by the legendary Emperor Yao. Rather than accept political authority and the responsibilities of imperial rule, Xu You rejected the offer. He considered the very suggestion of worldly power a form of moral pollution and went to the River Ying to wash his ears. Chao Fu, who witnessed the act, was so concerned that the water had been contaminated by the ears Xu You had washed it and refused to let his ox drink from the river. Masanobu however transforms it through the artistic strategy known as parody of picture. In this practice, a familiar contemporary situation is made to resemble a historical, literary or classical subject. Xu You is recast as an embarrassed Edo lover, while Chao Fu becomes his reproachful mistress. The man is washing his ears in an attempt to persuade her that he knows nothing about a letter from another woman. The letter, which reveals his deception is held in the mouth of the woman's cat. The waterfall painted as part of the room's interior decoration provides the visual clue to the classical story: it recalls the water in which Xu You washed his ears. The image also suggests that audience for such prints was expected to possess a degree of literary and historical knowledge. Its humour depends on recognising the reference to Xu You and Chao Fu and on understanding how the original story has been deliberately altered.