Actor Ichikawa Danjuro VII in a "Shibaraku" Role

Object Details

• Artist

  Utagawa Toyokuni I 歌川豊国 (1769-1825)

• Label

  No image is more instantly recognizable than that of an actor of the Ichikawa Danjuro lineage playing the "Shibaraku" scene in which he strides onto the stage, shouting "Shibaraku!" (Wait a moment!). Danjuro VII (1791-1859) is shown here in a "Shibaraku" performance, a specialty of his family since its invention by the great founder of the line, Danjuro I (1660- 1704). Wearing a distinctive persimmon red costume with oversized, stiff sleeves emblazoned with the Ichikawa family crest, the actor's fierce features are emphatically accentuated by kumadori, stage makeup that follows the contours of the face. With his gigantic sword, the hero proceeds to lop off the heads of his enemies in a performance that exemplifies the bravura aragoto style associated with the Ichikawa family and Edo kabuki. Danjuro VII was a great actor who lived in fame and luxury, which led to a seven-year exile from Edo in 1842. He returned to Edo after living and acting in the Kamigata (Kyoto-Osaka) theaters. Danjuro VII compiled The Kabuki Eighteen (Kabuki juhachiban), a collection of the finest plays performed by the Ichikawa Danjuro line. Other acting families followed suit, identifying their most famous plays as a central repertoire of definitive plays and roles.

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Masterful Illusions: Japanese Prints from the Anne van Biema Collection (September 15, 2002 to January 9, 2003)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  The Anne van Biema Collection

• Type

  Print

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1770s, 1780s, 1790s, 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, 1610s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1690s, 1840s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Utagawa, Toyokuni

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Theater, Art, Actors and actresses, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Anne van Biema collection, Ukiyo-e

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Prints