Imaginary portrait, Shuihuzhuan of Stage: Tōryūdai (Mitate Suikoden Tōrōdai) - Actor Onoe Kikugorō plays as Kumon no Ryūkichi
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
14 1/8 x 9 1/2 in. (35.9 x 24.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Meiji period (1868–1912)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Lincoln Kirstein, 1960
Accession Number
JP3354
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of Meiji-period Japan (1868–2), Toyohara Kunichika crafted this striking woodblock print, *Imaginary Portrait, Shuihuzhuan of Stage Tōryūdai (Mitate Suikodenōrōdai)*, from 1875. A master of ukiyo-e—literally "pictures of the floating world"—Kunichika in yakusha-e, or actor prints, capturing the drama of kabuki theater. Here, he depicts the renowned Onoe Kikugorō V as the fierce bandit Kumon no Ryūkichi from the classic Chinese novel *Water Margin* (Suikoden in Japanese), reimagined through a *mitate* (parodic homage) that blends literary heroism with stage spectacle. The ...
About the Artist
Toyohara Kunichika · 1835–1900
Japanese, 1835–1900