Seki Sanjūrō III as Naosuke Gonbei (R), Kataoka Nizaemon VIII as Tamiya Iemon (C) and Bandō Hikosaburō V as both the Ghost of Oiwa (Oiwa no bōrei) and the Ghost of Kobotoke Kohei (Kobotoke Kohei bōrei) (C), and Bandō Hikosaburō V as Satō Yomoshichi (L) 「関三十郎 直助権兵衛」 「片岡仁左衛門　田宮伊右衛門」 「坂東彦三郎 お岩の亡霊」 「坂東彦三郎 小仏子平亡霊」 「坂東彦三郎 佐藤与茂七」

Object Details

• Artist

  Utagawa Kunisada 歌川国貞 (1786-1865)

• Publisher

  Ebisuya Shoshichi (Kinshodo) 恵比寿屋庄七

• Block carver

  Yokokawa Takejiro (Hori Take)

• Label

  In the third act of Ghost Story of Yotsuya on the Tōkaidō, the villainous Iemon finds the bodies of the characters Oiwa and Kohei floating in a river, nailed to either side of a raindoor—and both Oiwa and Kohei are played by the same actor. To accomplish this onstage, the actor hides underneath a mock embankment as a prop door is moved into place. Wearing a facial prosthetic to appear as Oiwa, the actor places their head and hands through holes in the door, while a dummy body completes the illusion for the audience. The door is then covered and flipped over, as it has another dummy body for Kohei on the other side. Meanwhile, the actor is assisted by a stagehand to change into Kohei’s makeup. Again placing their head and hands through the holes, the actor now appears as Kohei to a stunned and delighted audience. This special effect was known as the “raindoor flip” (toitagaeshi) and was developed by Naoeya Jūbei (1781–1831), the son of the play’s author. To commemorate performances of this feat, print publishers occasionally produced “trick pictures” (shikake-e) such as this, where a printed piece of paper could show both characters in succession.

  right: Seki Sanjūrō III as Naosuke Gonbei

  center: Kataoka Nizaemon VIII as Tamiya Iemon and Bandō Hikosaburō V as both the Ghost of Oiwa (Oiwa no bōrei) and the Ghost of Kobotoke Kohei (Kobotoke Kohei bōrei)

  left: Bandō Hikosaburō V as Satō Yomoshichi

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Exhibition History

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

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  The Pearl and Seymour Moskowitz 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, 1860s, 1670s, 1660s

• Name

  Yokokawa, Takejiro, Utagawa, Kunisada, Ebisuya, Shoshichi

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Oiwa, Art, Ghost, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, The Pearl and Seymour Moskowitz Collection

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Prints