Actor Sawamura Kodenji I as Tsuyu no Mae
Artist
Torii Kiyonobu I 鳥居 清信
(Japanese, 1664–1729)
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 Collection, -1901On View
Not on view
Torii Kiyonobu I 鳥居 清信
late 17th–early 18th century
Torii Kiyomasu II
early to mid-1720's
Torii Kiyohiro 鳥居 清広
1755