COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
AIC_.1939.2121
AMICA Library Year:
1998
Object Type:
Prints
Creator Name:
Katsukawa, Shunko
Creator Nationality:
Asian; Far East Asian; Japanese
Creator Dates/Places:
Japanese; 1743-1812 Asia,East Asia,Japan
Creator Name-CRT:
Katsukawa Shunko
Title:
The actor Nakamura Nakazo I as Monk Shunkan in Hime Komatsu Ne no Hi Asobi (Outing to Pick Pine Seedlings on the Rat-Day of the New Year)
Title Type:
preferred
View:
full view
Creation Date:
Performed as the last act of part two at the Ichimura Theater in the seventh month, 1778
Creation Start Date:
1778
Creation End Date:
1778
Materials and Techniques:
Woodblock print.
Classification Term:
Woodblock
Creation Place:
Asia,East Asia,Japan
Dimensions:
Hosoban, probably the right sheet of a diptych; 32.5 x 14.7 cm
AMICA Contributor:
The Art Institute of Chicago
Owner Location:
Chicago, Illinois, USA
ID Number:
1939.2121
Credit Line:
The Art Institute of Chicago, The Clarence Buckingham Collection
Inscriptions:
SIGNATURE: Shunko ga
Context:
The plot of the play Hime Komatsu Ne no Hi Asobi is about Monk Shunkan's secret mission to guard the birth of the emperor's child by his concubine Kogo no Tsubone at remote Horagadake. Like Shunsho's print relating to the 1768 production, this design by Shunko shows Shunkan attempting to forestall Oyasu, the village girl whom he has enlisted as midwife, from obtaining his story by swearing secrecy on a pair of metal handmirrors. But at the sight of his aged, careworn features in one of the mirrors, Shunkan drops his guard and lets slip to Oyasu his true identity and the tale of his lonely exile on the island of Kikaigajima, the penalty of a failed plot against the Taira clan's domination of the imperial court. From the direction of Shunkan's movement andgaze we can infer that this is the right-hand sheet of a diptych, whose other sheet would probably show Nakamura Riko I as Oyasu, holding the other mirror.As in Shunsho's print, the monk is shown with long, straggly hair, and Shunko has depicted him bearded as well. He leans on his long sword as if for support, pondering, perhaps, the aged features reflected in the mirror. His kimono has a pattern of wild chrysanthemums and, near the hem at the right, a 'Genji emblem' (Genji ko), which indicates his secret loyalty to this clan. Nakazo I's grim features are familiar to us from many of Shunsho's prints, and Shunko has produced a design as powerfully concentrated as any done by his teacher.The dark blue pigment of the over-kimono and lighter blue streaked face makeup (sujiguma) have both faded in this impression.
Related Image Identifier Link:
AIC_.E19796.TIF
