- Provenance
- Provenance research underway.
- Label
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The prominent Edo actor, Onoe Kikugoro III (1784-1849), here performs at Osaka's Kado Theater in a play based on the Fifty-three Stations along the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusantsugi), the main road linking Edo and Kyoto. The actor plays the ghost, Yonakiishi, who wears a dark blue obi tied in front of her kimono. The blue and silver tones create an eerie image against the darkness represented by the black background. The haiku (hokku), signed with the actor's poetry name, Baiko, likens a hototogisu (little cuckoo), a messenger from the other world in Japanese folklore, to a restless spirit who cannot find salvation:
The little cuckoo,
flitting aimlessly,
traverses the path of love.
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. 67, pp. 186-187.
- Collection Area(s)
- Japanese Art
- Web Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- SI Usage Statement
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CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)
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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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International Image Interoperability Framework
FS-7447_40