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Actor Sawamura Kodenji I as Tsuyu no Mae
Actor Sawamura Kodenji I as Tsuyu no Mae
Image © Worcester Art Museum, all rights reserved.

Actor Sawamura Kodenji I as Tsuyu no Mae

Artist (Japanese, 1664–1729)
Publisher
Date1698, third month
Mediumwoodblock print with hand-applied color (tan-e); ink and color on paper
DimensionsŌ-ōban (Vertical): 53.2 × 30.9 cm (20 15/16 × 12 3/16 in.)
ClassificationsPrints
MarkingsPublisher's seal: hangiya Shin Izumichō Shichirobei
Credit LineJohn Chandler Bancroft Collection
Object number1901.59
Label TextThis is the only complete impression of this single-sheet print by Kiyonobu, the founder of the Torii school and a specialist in depicting Kabuki-related designs. Kiyonobu arrived in Edo (modern Tokyo) from Osaka in 1687 with his father (a trained actor) and began to issue books, prints, and Kabuki signboards in the 1690s. This large sheet depicts the star onnagata (male actor of female roles) in the play Kanto Koroku. In the role of Tsuyu no Mae, actor Sawamura Kodenji I is performing a kyoran (lunatic dance) before the Tadasu Shrine. The multiple black circles on Kodenji’s robes illustrate his actor crest. The fluid contours and rounded forms echo the movements of the elegant wagoto (soft-stuff) style of Kyoto-Osaka (Kansai) Kabuki, which Kiyonobu knew through his father. ProvenanceJohn Chandler Bancroft [1835-1901], Boston, MA; 1901, by bequest to the Worcester Art Museum.
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