The Actor Nakamura Nakazo I as Chinzei Hachiro Tametomo Disguised as a Pilgrim

Detail of a pattern
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At A Glance

  • Period

    1780
  • Geography

    Japan
  • Material

    Ink and color on paper
  • Dimension

    H x W (overall): 34.1 x 16.9 cm (13 7/16 x 6 5/8 in)
  • Accession Number

    S2004.3.47
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_S2004.3.47

Object Details

  • Artist

    Katsukawa Shunsho 勝川春章 (1726-1792)
  • Label

    In this print, the leading actor Matsumoto Koshiro IV (1737-1802) performs the role of Nagoya Sanzaburo, a character based on a masterless samurai (ronin) who lived in the disorder of the late sixteenth century and traveled among the kabuki-mono, a flagrantly uncontrolled group of rebels who defied social convention. In legend, Nagoya became a romantic figure who was sometimes linked to Okuni, the unconventional female performer who first performed kabuki. This print by Shunsho, the artist who produced the first realistic portraits of actors, would have belonged to a set that, when placed side by side, portrayed several actors in the same play. Here the handsome actor, wearing a stylish costume with a coat decorated with triple umbrellas, raises the deep straw hat that was worn as a disguise to conceal his identity.
  • 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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