The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 8, 2024

Ichimura Uzaemon IX as Shingen in “A String of Prayer Beads Shaken at a Ribbon of Waterfall”

Ichimura Uzaemon IX as Shingen in “A String of Prayer Beads Shaken at a Ribbon of Waterfall”

1775
(Japanese, 1726–1792)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
color woodblock print
Sheet: 33.4 x 15 cm (13 1/8 x 5 7/8 in.)
Gift from J. H. Wade 1921.1270
Location: not on view

Description

Once the center print of a triptych (a composition of three prints), this design shows Ichimura Uzaemon IX playing Takeda Harunobu (1521–1573), a storied general who received the name Shingen upon taking Buddhist vows. In the story, Shingen attempts to cut off his enemy’s water supply, using a spell to imprison the dragon god who controlled it. However, a young woman named Sakura-hime gets him drunk. While he is indisposed, she and her lover release the dragon, whereupon it rains. Here, Shingen, in Buddhist robes, grips his string of prayer beads between his teeth.
  • Minamoto
    ?–1921
    William S. Spaulding [1865–1937] and John T. Spaulding [1870–1948], Boston, MA
    November 16, 1921
    (American Art Association, November 16, 1921 sale, lot 67)
    1921
    (Yamanaka & Co., sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1921–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Japan's Floating World (Japanese art rotation) 235. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (April 8-October 9, 2022).
  • {{cite web|title=Ichimura Uzaemon IX as Shingen in “A String of Prayer Beads Shaken at a Ribbon of Waterfall”|url=false|author=Katsukawa Shunshō|year=1775|access-date=08 May 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1921.1270