The Actor Sanogawa Ichimatsu I as Ike no Shoji

Object Details

• Artist

  Torii Kiyonobu II (fl. ca. 1725-1760)

• Label

  Leaping into the air with his right hand outstretched while grasping his sword in his left hand, the actor Sanogawa Ichimatsu I (1722-1762) portrays the warrior Ike no Shoji. The illustrated play is based on the complex narrative of the fortunes and misfortunes of Oguri Hangan, a member of a family that rebelled against the shogunal government in the fifteenth century. Hangan became a popular subject in Edo-period puppet and kabuki plays. Designed by the artist Kiyonobu, the print represents an early stage in the technical development of color printing, which began to appear in the late 1740s. Two color blocks-one red and one green-are printed in addition to the key block. In this print, the color does not merely fill in areas defined by the black key block, but also represents certain motifs such as clouds and sky.

• 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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• 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, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Torii, Kiyonobu

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Theater, Yakusha-e, Art, Moon, Actors and actresses, Outer space, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Anne van Biema collection, Portraits, Ukiyo-e, Hosoban

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Prints