- Provenance
- Provenance research underway.
- Label
-
The actor Ichikawa Ebizo (1741-1806) is portrayed as Kudo Suketsune, the villain of the many kabuki plays that relate the story of the Soga brothers' vendetta against their uncle, Kudo, who was responsible for the death of their father. Here the warrior wears a costume richly ornamented with large lobsters (ebi), which allude to the actor's name, Ebizo. He strikes a powerful pose that is made more emphatic by the tall bow in his hands. This print by Shun'ei captures faithfully the individual features of the actor who later became Ichikawa Danjuro V. An unusual feature of the background of the stage set is the grove of bamboo that is rendered in brushstrokes reminiscent of an ink painting. The beauty of color printing can be appreciated in this print, in which the delicate colors are well preserved.
- Published References
-
- Ann Yonemura, et al. Masterful Illusions: Japanese Prints from the Anne van Biema Collection. Seattle and Washington. cat. 21, pp. 94-95.
- Collection Area(s)
- Japanese Art
- Web Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- SI Usage Statement
-
Usage Conditions Apply
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
-
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.
To Download
Chrome users: right click on icon, select "save link as..."
Internet Explorer users: right click on icon, select "save target as..."
Mozilla Firefox users: right click on icon, select "save link as..."
International Image Interoperability Framework
FS-7434_40