Ichikawa Monnosuke II as Soga no Gorō

二代目市川門之助の曽我五郎

1779

Katsukawa Shunkō 勝川春好

(Japanese, 1743–1812)

Culture

Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

Medium

color woodblock print

Measurements

Sheet: 30.6 x 14 cm (12 1/16 x 5 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Gift from J. H. Wade 1920.518

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Location

Not on view

Description

Some Kabuki plays centered on the legend of the Soga brothers, Gorō and Jurō, who avenge their father’s murder before coming to their own demise. The setting is near Mount Fuji, part of which appears in the background. The print is likely from a diptych (a composition of two prints). The other print would have shown the rest of the mountain and Gorō’s retainer (a person retained by another to act in a military capacity), Asahina Saburō, tugging at the same pine bough as Gorō—a twist on scenes in which Saburō pulled Gorō’s armor to try to prevent him from protecting his brother.