- Provenance
- Provenance research underway.
- Label
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In this print, Ichikawa Danjuro VI is depicted in the role of Arajishi Otonosuke in a play dealing with the troubles of the Date clan in the fourteenth century. He wears the striking kumadori stage makeup that was introduced by Danjuro I in the late seventeenth century. He holds an iron-framed fan that he used as a weapon in the play to thwart Nikki Danjo, the villain who transformed himself into a rat to steal a scroll. This print is one of a series created by Kunisada in 1852, when he produced a large number of half-length actor portraits. In this series, each actor is matched with one of the Thirty-six Poets, in this case Mibu no Tadamine (flourished 898-920). The poem alludes to the rat-day of the New Year when pine seedlings were gathered as auspicious symbols of longevity:
Rat-day festivities-
if there were no pine saplings in the fields
to serve as a symbol of long life
what would we have to pull up?
Translation of poem by John T. Carpenter
- Published References
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- Ann Yonemura, et al. Masterful Illusions: Japanese Prints from the Anne van Biema Collection. Seattle and Washington. cat. 43, pp. 140-141.
- Collection Area(s)
- Japanese Art
- Web Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- SI Usage Statement
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Usage Conditions Apply
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
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CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
Usage Conditions Apply
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
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International Image Interoperability Framework
FS-S2004.3.146_001-000001