Artwork Page for Ichimura Takenojo and Sanjo Kantaro as a Pair of Lovers in the Yoshiwara

Details / Information for Ichimura Takenojo and Sanjo Kantaro as a Pair of Lovers in the Yoshiwara

Ichimura Takenojo and Sanjo Kantaro as a Pair of Lovers in the Yoshiwara

early 1720s

Torii Kiyonobu I 鳥居 清信

(Japanese, 1664–1729)
Culture
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Medium
hand-colored woodblock print
Measurements
Image: 31.1 x 15.2 cm (12 1/4 x 6 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Jeptha H. Wade in honor of Emily V. Wade 1974.80
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Kiyonobu's prints are usually hand-colored and outlined in black. They often depict actors and scenes from plays. Kiyonobu's was largely responsible for introducing theater prints as commercial products. He is regarded as the founder of the Torii school, which with its close relationship to the theater, dominated printmaking for 75 years until the appearance of Shunsho in the late 1700s.
A vertically oriented hand-colored woodblock print depicts two stylized figures standing before vertical slats. On our left, a person with a light skin tone wears a black and orange patterned robe with a sword tucked into their waist. To our right, another light-skinned person wearing a yellow and orange robe patterned with floral circles looks downward. Vertical columns of Japanese calligraphy border the figures in the upper right and lower left.

Ichimura Takenojo and Sanjo Kantaro as a Pair of Lovers in the Yoshiwara

early 1720s

Torii Kiyonobu I

(Japanese, 1664–1729)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

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