Arashi Rikan II as Danshichi Kurōbei in "Mirror of Naniwa: The Summer Festival"

二代目嵐璃寛の団七九郎兵衛　夏祭浪花鑑

1832

Shunbaisai Hokuei 春梅斎北英

(Japanese, d. 1837)

Culture

Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

Medium

color woodblock print

Measurements

35.7 x 24.4 cm (14 1/16 x 9 5/8 in.)

Credit Line

Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1980.84

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

This belongs to a category of Japanese prints called “actor images” (yakusha-e or 役者絵), which were collected by fans of popular Kabuki actors.

Description

This print shows Arashi Rikan II (1788–1837) acting in a Kabuki play put on at the Chikugoza Theater in Osaka in 1832. Rikan’s character, Danshichi Kurōbei, was among the otokodate roles, or men who stood up for those without much power in society. Mirror of Naniwa: The Summer Festival remains popular today and has the most well-known Kabuki murder scene, in which Danshichi kills his devious father-in-law, Mikawaya Giheiji. Rikan strikes multiple dramatic poses, called mie, during the episode, which features real mud on the stage.