Ogino Isaburo as Asamajiro; Sanogawa Ichimatsu as Fujitaro
1748
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
H. 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm); W. 5 7/8 in. (14.9 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Estate of Samuel Isham, 1914
Accession Number
JP828
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan with this exquisite woodblock print by Torii Kiyonobu I, a master of the Torii school renowned for capturing the drama of kabuki theater. Created in 1748 the narrow hosoban-format print (just 12½ by 5⅞ inches) portrays two celebrated actors: Ogino Isaburo in the role of Asamajiro and Sanogawa Ichimatsu as Fujitaro. Both figures wield swords, embodying the fierce intensity of kabuki's heroic tales, their dynamic poses and expressive faces leaping off the paper in bold ink and vivid colors. Torii Kiyonobu I helped pioneer yakusha-e, or actor print...
About the Artist
Torii Kiyonobu I · 1664–1729
Torii Kiyonobu I (1664–1729), born Shōbei in Osaka, was the second son of Torii Kiyomoto, a prominent kabuki actor specializing in onnagata roles and a painter of theater signboards. He studied painting under his father as well as Yoshida Hanbei and Hishikawa Moronobu, the pioneering ukiyo-e master whose figure styles profoundly shaped his early work. In 1687, at age twenty-four, Kiyonobu accompan...