Arashi Rikan II as Kizu Kansuke and Nakayama Bunshichi III as Hayashi Sanzemon from the Kabuki Play "Eight Views of the Kizu River by Boating Song"

二代目嵐璃寛の木津勘助及び三代目中山文七の林三左衛門　棹歌木津川八景（中）

1829

Shunshosai Hokuchō 春曙斎北頂

(Japanese, active 1822–1830)

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Culture

Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

Medium

Center print from a triptych of color woodblock prints

Measurements

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

Credit Line

Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1976.62.b

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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.