Ichikawa Kodanji IV as the Ghost (Rei) of Kozakura Tōgo and as the Tea Server (Chadō) Inba, Actually the Ghost of Tōgo (R), Bandō Hikosaburō IV as Orikoshi Tairyō, Iwai Kumesaburō III as the Secret Mistress (Myō) Katsuragi, and Ichikawa Kodanji IV as Koshimoto Sakuragi, Actually the Ghost of Tōgo (L) 「茶道印馬実は当吾ノ霊 」四代目市川小団次　　「浅倉当吾の霊」四代目市川小団次　　「織越大領」四代目坂東彦三郎

Object Details

• Artist

  Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川国芳 (1798-1861)

• Publisher

  Kazusaya Iwazo 上総屋岩蔵 (ca. 1842-1855)

• Label

  This play is based on a real man named Sakura Sōgo. After his lord taxed his village into starvation, Sōgo went directly to the shogun to beg for help, knowing he would be executed for his insubordination. His ghost returned to torment his wicked lord as revenge for his own death and those of his wife and children, who were also executed as punishment. As this was a politically sensitive story, the characters’ names were changed for the kabuki version to avoid government censorship. The name of the real Lord Hotta Masanobu (1631–1680) was changed to “Lord Horikoshi” or “Orikoshi,” and Sakura Sōgo was changed to “Asakura Tōgo.” However, the references were still quite obvious, so some publishers were also careful in how they marketed these prints.

• 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, 1850s, 1680s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Kazusaya, Iwazo, Utagawa, Kuniyoshi

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

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

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Prints