The Actor Bando Hikosaburo in the role of Asahi na Saburo Breaking Open the Castle Door
ca. 1730
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
12 7/32 x 5 31/32 in. (31.1 x 15.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Francis Lathrop Collection, Purchase, Frederick C. Hewitt Fund, 1911
Accession Number
JP686
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan (1615–1868), Okumura Masanobu's woodblock print *The Actor Bando Hikosaburo in the role of Asahi na Saburo Breaking Open the Castle Door* (ca. 1730) captures the high drama of kabuki theater. This ink and color on paper print, measuring just over 12 by 6 inches, depicts the famed actor Bando Hikosaburo in a dynamic pose, sword in hand, as he forcefully breaches a castle door. Masanobu, a pioneering ukiyo-e artist, specialized in yakusha-e (actor prints), immortalizing stage stars in exaggerated, expressive poses that blurred the line between performance...
About the Artist
Okumura Masanobu · 1686–1764
Japanese, 1686–1764