Dōjōji, from the series One Hundred Nō Plays

Object Details

• Artist

  Tsukioka Kogyo 月岡耕漁 (1869-1927)

• Publisher

  Matsuki Heikichi 松木平吉

• Label

  Dōjōji is one of the most popular among the more than two hundred noh plays that are known. The central element of this fast-paced play is a large temple bell. The play begins when the head priest enters the stage to relay that monks are about to consecrate the new temple bell. Soon, a shirabyōshi dancer enters, wearing the courtier’s hat characteristic of this female-dominated performance art. As she is dancing, the monks are frightened by her crazed demeanor. In Kōgyo’s print, she approaches the bell, hinting that a past sin and unreciprocated love are weighing on her like the heavy temple bell.

• Provenance

  To 2003

  Robert O. Muller

  From 2003

  National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution by gift from Robert O. Muller [1]

  Notes:

  [1] Accessioned on December 6, 2003. See Acquisition Consideration Form, in object file. From 2003-2023, the object was part of the National Museum of Asian Art’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection and on March 21, 2023, the work was internally transferred to the National Museum of Asian Art Collection.

• 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)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Robert O. Muller (1911-2003)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Robert O. Muller Collection

• Type

  Print

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1920s

• Name

  Muller, Robert O.

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Theater, Bells, Art, Temple, Robert O. Muller collection, Noh, Japanese Art, Taisho era (1912 - 1926)

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Prints