The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Ichikawa Monnosuke II as Urabe Suetake, Onoe Matsusuke I as Usui Sadamitsu, and Nakamura Nakazo I as Watanabe no Tsuna in “The Four Heavenly Kings Costumed as the Night Watch”

Ichikawa Monnosuke II as Urabe Suetake, Onoe Matsusuke I as Usui Sadamitsu, and Nakamura Nakazo I as Watanabe no Tsuna in “The Four Heavenly Kings Costumed as the Night Watch”

1781
(Japanese, active c. 1782–98)
Overall: 31 x 14.5 cm (12 3/16 x 5 11/16 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

This triptych (a composition of three prints) shows actors portraying three of the four famed protectors of imperial regent Minamoto Yorimitsu (948?–1021). Collectively, they are known as his Shitennō (四天王), or “Four Heavenly Kings,” after the Buddhist deities who guard the four cardinal directions. The characters are indicated by the large house crests on their robes. The actor Onoe Matsusuke I’s identity is revealed by a fan with the ideograph matsu (松), or “pine,” tucked into his robe, just against his breastplate.
  • ?–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).
    Japanese Prints from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 5-October 28, 1934).
  • {{cite web|title=Ichikawa Monnosuke II as Urabe Suetake, Onoe Matsusuke I as Usui Sadamitsu, and Nakamura Nakazo I as Watanabe no Tsuna in “The Four Heavenly Kings Costumed as the Night Watch”|url=false|author=Katsukawa Shunzan|year=1781|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1921.314