The Actor Arashi Rikan II as Ogata Rikimaru

Object Details

• Artist

  Shunkosai Hokushu 春好斎北洲 (fl. ca. 1802-1832)

• Label

  Wearing full armor, the actor Arashi Rikan II (1788-1837) plays the role of a warrior who has acquired magical powers that allow him to control frogs. He wears a wig that suggests the character has not shaven his pate for one hundred days, thus producing a disheveled appearance. This type of wig is commonly used in period plays to express a combination of physical strength and evil intentions. The actor himself composed the haiku (hokku) inscribed on this print. It refers to the honor of performing in a New Year production and self-deprecatingly suggests that he is not a famous actor:

  How comforting!

  Even grasses with no name

  enjoy the blessings of the sun.

  Translation of poem by John T. Carpenter

• 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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• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• 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

  Shunkosai, Hokushu

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Art, Oban, Toads, Samurai, Portraits, Ukiyo-e, Theater, Yakusha-e, Actors and actresses, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Anne van Biema collection, Haiku

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Prints