Michiyuki no embō|Evening Glow on a Traveling Drama [Chinese watching a Kabuki play]
1st month, 1861
![Michiyuki no embō|Evening Glow on a Traveling Drama [Chinese watching a Kabuki play] by Utagawa Yoshitora](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/met/as/thumb/michiyuki-no-embevening-glow-on-a-traveling-drama-73473.webp)
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Image: 14 1/2 x 9 7/8 in. (36.8 x 25.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of William S. Lieberman, 2005
Accession Number
2007.49.186
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the enchanting woodblock printMichiyuki no emb (Evening Glow on a Traveling DramaChinese watching a Kabuki play])*, Uawa Yoshitora captures a lively theater scene from Japan's Edo period (1615–1868). Created in the first month of 1861, this ukiyo-e work—measuring 14½ × 9⅞ inches—depicts an audience of Chinese figures enthralled by a traveling Kabuki performance. The title evokes the dramatic "michiyuki," a poignant lovers' journey motif common in Kabuki, bathed in the warm hues of evening glow, with candles flickering amid men, women, and actors. Yoshitora, a prolific artist from the Utaga...
About the Artist
Utagawa Yoshitora · 1845–1880
Utagawa Yoshitora (歌川 芳虎), also known by his art names Ichimōsai, Mōsai, and Kinchōrō, was a prolific ukiyo-e artist born in Edo (modern Tokyo), where he trained under the renowned Utagawa Kuniyoshi, recognized as his oldest pupil. Little is known of his early life, which remains sparsely documented, but his earliest works include illustrations for the book *Story of Karasu Kanzaemon’s Loyalty* in...