Nue from the series One Hundred Prints of Noh

Object Details

• Artist

  Tsukioka Kogyo 月岡耕漁 (1869-1927)

• Publisher

  Matsuki Heikichi 松木平吉

• Label

  Kōgyo’s 1925 print captures the mythical creature Nue in front of a foreboding cloud, pairing a view of the actor onstage with the atmospheric aspect sung about in the story. In the play, Nue’s ghost recounts how the emperor at the time was beset by a mysterious illness that could not be cured by any medicine. At the same time, a strange dark cloud rose behind the woods surrounding the imperial palace. The cloud was interpreted as a sign of evildoings and was linked to Nue, who laments he was killed unjustly because he was thought to be the cause of the emperor’s illness.

• Provenance

  To ?

  David Wallace, Washington, DC [1]

  To 1971

  Embassy of Japan, Washington DC, gift of David Wallace, Washington, DC [2]

  From 1971

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of the Embassy of Japan, Washington, DC [3]

  Notes:

  [1] The Embassy of Japan received a gift from David Wallace of Washington, DC at an unknown date. In 1971, the Embassy of Japan gave print to the Study Collection of the Freer Gallery of Art. See letter dated February 11, 1971 from the Freer Gallery to Mr. David Wallace, copy in object file, Collections Management Office.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] See note 1.

• Collection

  Freer Study Collection

• Exhibition History

  Staging the Supernatural: Ghosts and the Theater in Japanese Prints (March 23 to October 6, 2024)

• Previous custodian or owner

  David Wallace

  Embassy of Japan

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of the Embassy of Japan, Washington, D.C.

• Type

  Print

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1920s, 1910s

• Name

  Wallace, David, Embassy of Japan

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Theater, Art, Actors and actresses, Noh, Ghost, Japanese Art, Taisho era (1912 - 1926)

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Prints