The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 18, 2025
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"
1829
designer
(Japanese, active 1822–1830)
Each: 36.2 x 76 cm (14 1/4 x 29 15/16 in.)
Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1976.62
Location: 235A Japanese
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.
- ?–1976(Associated American Artists, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)1976–The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Highlights of Japanese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 7, 2025-June 14, 2026).Year in Review, 1976. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 1-March 6, 1977).
- {{cite web|title=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"|url=false|author=Shunshosai Hokuchō|year=1829|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1976.62