Sketchbook depicting Kabuki play Terokoya

Detail of a pattern
Image 1 of 38
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At A Glance

  • Period

    Dated Spring, Meiji 36 (1903)
  • Geography

    Japan
  • Material

    Ink and color on paper bound in silk covered album
  • Dimension

    H x W (sheet and image): 21.1 x 1287 cm (8 5/16 x 506 11/16 in)
  • Accession Number

    F2004.9a-ddd
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_F2004.9a-ddd

Object Details

  • Artist

    Kobayashi Kiyochika 小林清親 (1847-1915)
  • Description

    Bound album with silk covered front and back covers. Separate protective cover with two ivory toggle closures. Contains thirty-seven illustrations, each the full width of an unfolded sheet, illustrate a farcical Kabuki performance. In the first sequence, a couple offers a box of rice balls which attract great interest from a man perched high in a stand. He falls head first and becomes covered with rice balls. Later, a warrior approaches along the hanamichi leading toward the stage and other action ensues onstage.
  • Signatures

    The signature identifies the painter as Kobayashi Kiyochika.
  • Inscriptions

    This satirical album begins with an inscription in the form of a seventeen-syllable verse by Ozaki Koha reading:
    gei nashi no
    yokan wo hadaka no
    odori kana
    "[A performance] without art [is like] dancing naked in late winter"
  • Provenance

    To 2004
    Robert O. Muller (1911-2003), Newtown, CT, to 2004
    From 2004
    Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from the Estate of Robert O. Muller through Joan Mirviss, Ltd., New York, NY, in 2004
  • Collection

    Freer Gallery of Art Collection
  • Exhibition History

    Dream Worlds: Modern Japanese Prints and Paintings from the Robert O. Muller Collection (November 06, 2004 to January 7, 2007)
  • Previous custodian or owner

    Robert O. Muller (1911-2003)
    Estate of Robert O. Muller
  • Origin

    Japan
  • Credit Line

    Purchase from the Estate of Robert O. Muller — funds provided by the Friends of the National Museum of Asian Art and the Harold P. Stern Memorial Fund
  • Type

    Painting
  • Restrictions and Rights

    Usage Conditions Apply

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