The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 24, 2025

Otani Tokuji I as the Retainer Sodesuke in "Flowering Irises: A Soga Vendetta of the Bunroku Era"

1794

Tōshūsai Sharaku

(Japanese, active 1794–95)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
color woodblock print
36.2 x 25.2 cm (14 1/4 x 9 15/16 in.)
Bequest of Edward L. Whittemore 1930.206
Location: 235A Japanese

Did You Know?

The clenched fist and mouth express the character’s determination.

Description

Ōtani Tokuji I (1756–1808) portrays a servant in a play that follows two brothers as they pursue a villain who murdered their father and older brother and who stole their family’s secret scroll.

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.
  • ?–1925
    (Yamanaka & Co., New York, NY, sold to Edward Loder Whittemore)
    1925–1930
    Edward Loder Whittemore [1862–1930], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1930–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Howard Conley Hollis. "The Edward Loder Whittemore Collection of Japanese Prints." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 17, no. 4 (April 1930): 64-66. Mentioned: pp. 64-66 www.jstor.org
  • Highlights of Japanese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 7, 2025-June 14, 2026).
    Visions of Japan: Prints and Paintings from Cleveland Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 12, 2004-April 10, 2005).
    Transformations in Japanese Printmaking. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 25-December 30, 1984).
    Ways of Drawing Faces. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 1, 1944-January 31, 1945).
    The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).
    Japanese Prints from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 5-October 28, 1934).
  • {{cite web|title=Otani Tokuji I as the Retainer Sodesuke in "Flowering Irises: A Soga Vendetta of the Bunroku Era"|url=false|author=Tōshūsai Sharaku|year=1794|access-date=24 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1930.206