The Actors Iwai Shijaku I as Hisamatsu and Osome

Detail of a pattern
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At A Glance

  • Period

    1833
  • Geography

    Japan
  • Material

    Ink, color, silver mica and brass on paper
  • Dimension

    H x W (overall): 37.3 x 50.3 cm (14 11/16 x 19 13/16 in)
  • Accession Number

    S2004.3.286a-b
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_S2004.3.286a-b

Object Details

  • Artist

    Shunbaisai Hokuei (active 1829-1837)
  • Label

    Tragic love affairs, which often ended in double suicides, attracted deep public sympathy both onstage and in life. The love-suicide of Osome and Hisamatsu, which took place in the first decade of the eighteenth century, was so widely known that it quickly became a subject of popular ballads and kabuki plays. This beautiful diptych by the Osaka artist Hokuei conveys much of the emotional resonance of the play's performance in Kyoto in 1833. Iwai Shijaku I (1804-1845) played both principal roles as well as others for a total of seven in this performance. In this print, the actor is shown playing both lovers, who are each betrothed to another. Onstage, they would appear alternately, appearing and disappearing behind the stage set. The graffiti on the plaster wall of the storehouse gives the names of the lovers beneath an umbrella, followed by oatari (great hit) and "Iwai Shijaku of Kyoto." The design and the exquisite printing of this diptych make it one of Hokuei's finest theatrical prints.
  • 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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