The Actors Ichikawa Monnosuke II as Miyukinosuke, Segawa Kikunojo III as Hatsune-hime, and Ichikawa Danjuro V as Ninnaji no Saibei, in the joruri "Shitenno Oe no Yamairi," performed at the Kiri Theater in the eleventh month, 1785
1785
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
38.7 × 26.8 cm (15 1/4 × 10 9/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
19353
Art Historical Context
Step into the dazzling world of 18th-century Japanese kabuki theater with Torii Kiyonaga's *The Actors Ichikawa Monnosuke II as Miyukinos, Segawa Kikunojo III as Hatsune-hime, and Ichikawa Danjuro V Ninnaji no Saibei*. Created in 1785, this color woodblock print (oban format, 38.7 × 26.8 cm) immortalizes a scene from the joruri play *Shitenno Oe no Yamairi*, performed at Edo's prestigious Kiri Theater in the eleventh month. Kiyonaga, a master of the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") tradition from the Torii school, expertly captures the stars in dynamic poses, their elaborate costumes...
About the Artist
Torii Kiyonaga · 1752–1815
Torii Kiyonaga, born Sekiguchi Shinsuke in 1752 in Uraga, Sagami Province, was the son of an Edo bookseller who owned tenements near a bustling fish market. At age 14 in 1765, he began his apprenticeship under Torii Kiyomitsu, the third-generation head of the prestigious Torii school of ukiyo-e, renowned for kabuki theater illustrations and signage. Adopted into the Torii family, Kiyonaga succeede...