The Actor Ichikawa Ebizo as Kudo Suketsune

Object Details

• Artist

  Katsukawa Shun'ei 勝川春英 (1762-1819)

• Label

  The actor Ichikawa Ebizo (1741-1806) is portrayed as Kudo Suketsune, the villain of the many kabuki plays that relate the story of the Soga brothers' vendetta against their uncle, Kudo, who was responsible for the death of their father. Here the warrior wears a costume richly ornamented with large lobsters (ebi), which allude to the actor's name, Ebizo. He strikes a powerful pose that is made more emphatic by the tall bow in his hands. This print by Shun'ei captures faithfully the individual features of the actor who later became Ichikawa Danjuro V. An unusual feature of the background of the stage set is the grove of bamboo that is rendered in brushstrokes reminiscent of an ink painting. The beauty of color printing can be appreciated in this print, in which the delicate colors are well preserved.

• 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

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

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• 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

  Katsukawa, Shun'ei

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

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

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Prints