Ichikawa Ebijūrō II as Horiguchi Manzaemon (right), Arashi Rikan II as Kizu Kansuke, Nakayama Bunshichi III as Hayashi Sanzemon (center), and Asao Gakujurō as the Ferryman Sanjūrō (left) from the Kabuki Play "Eight Views of the Kizu River by Boating Song"

二代目市川鰕十郎の堀口万右衛門、二代目嵐璃寛の木津勘助、三代目中山文七の林三左衛門及び初代浅尾額十郎の渡シ守三十郎　棹歌木津川八景

1829

designer

Shunshosai Hokuchō 春曙斎北頂

(Japanese, active 1822–1830)

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Culture

Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

Medium

triptych of color woodblock prints

Measurements

Each: 36.2 x 76 cm (14 1/4 x 29 15/16 in.)

Credit Line

Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1976.62

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Location

Not on view

Description

Three prints form a continuous scene from a Kabuki play written in 1778 by Namiki Gohei I (1747–1808) and produced at the Kado Theater in Osaka in the summer of 1829. It was the final performance for actor Ichikawa Ebijūrō II (1806–1829; right)—highly regarded for portraying villains—because he got sick and died several months later.

This design belongs to a category of Japanese prints called “actor images” (yakusha-e or 役者絵). They were collected by fans of popular Kabuki actors. Kabuki is a kind of entertainment that got its start in the early Edo period, evolving from dance performances with simple storylines to long plays with complex plots, elaborate sets, and full musical accompaniments. Performers wear showy costumes and heavy makeup and strike poses called mie at critical moments in the narrative. Dialogue is spoken in a stylized way that resembles singing.