Bando Mitsugoro III as Minamoto no Yorimasa (right), Segawa Kikunojo V as Ayame no Mae (center), and Ichikawa Danjuro VII as I no Hayata (left)
Medium
Color woodblock prints; shikishiban triptych, surimono
Dimensions
20.8 × 18.1 cm (right), 21.0 × 18.2 cm (center), 20.8 × 18.0 cm (left)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
182348
Art Historical Context
This vibrant color woodblock print triptych by Utagawa Kunisada I (also known as Toyokuni III) captures three celebrated kabuki actors in character around 1820. On the right, Bandō Mitsugorō III portrays the noble Minamoto no Yorimasa; in the center, Segawa Kikunojō V appears as Ayame no Mae; and on the left, Ichikawa Danjūrō VII embodies I no Hayata. Created as a shikishiban surimono—a privately commissioned format often exchanged among poetry circles—the work highlights the dynamic world of Edo-period theater and the intense popularity of its stars. Kunisada, one of the leading ukiyo-e mast...
About the Artist
Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III) · 1786–1864
Utagawa Kunisada I, also known as Toyokuni III (1786–1865), was born Sumida Shōgorō in the Honjo district of Edo (modern Tokyo) into a family that operated a hereditary ferry-boat service, providing stability after his father's early death. Displaying prodigious talent in drawing from childhood, he became an apprentice to the master Utagawa Toyokuni I around 1801 at age fifteen, entering the prest...