Onoe Matsusuke as Usui Sadamitsu

初代尾上松助の碓井貞光

1781

Katsukawa Shunzan 勝川春山

(Japanese, active c. 1782–98)

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Culture

Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

Medium

One of a triptych of color woodblock prints

Measurements

Sheet: 31 x 14.5 cm (12 3/16 x 5 11/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift from J. H. Wade 1921.314.b

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Location

Not on view

Description

This print is part of a triptych (a composition of three prints) that shows actors portraying three of the four famed protectors of imperial regent Minamoto Yorimitsu (948?–1021). Collectively, they are known as his Shitennō (四天王), or “Four Heavenly Kings,” after the Buddhist deities who guard the four cardinal directions. The characters are indicated by the large house crests on their robes. The actor Onoe Matsusuke I’s identity is revealed by a fan with the ideograph matsu (松), or “pine,” tucked into his robe, just against his breastplate.