painting;
board
- Museum number
- 1921,0614,0.11
- Description
-
Painting, theatre signboard (e-kanban). Scenes from kabuki play: (from left to right) fight between ruffian, two men and courtesan crouching with drawn dagger at foot of bridge surrounded by autumn maples; courtesan being reunited with child wearing travelling hat and talisman, with ghost standing in doorway behind; courtesan protecting man from abuse by two bullying characters in brothel. Ink, colour and gold on paper.
- Production date
- 1868-1890
- Dimensions
-
Height: 133 centimetres
-
Width: 202 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- Clark 1992
It has not yet been possible to identify the Kabuki play to which this signboard relates, but the three scenes depicted seem to be the standard fare of Osaka domestic dramas ('sewamono'): from left to right, a fight between a ruffian, two men and a courtesan crouching with a drawn dagger at the foot of a bridge surrounded by autumn maples; a courtesan being reunited with a child who has a travelling hat and talisman, with a ghost standing in the doorway behind; and a courtesan protecting a man from abuse by two bullying characters in a brothel.
The technique of combining several highlights in the drama - each in their own pocket of space representing a different setting - into a single composition was common to signboards, advertising handbills ('tsuji banzuke') and illustrated programmes ('ehon banzuke') for the theatres. The signboards were hung in frames above the entrance to the theatre and generally seem to have been discarded after the performance. The oldest examples to have survived date from the middle of the eighteenth century, and remain only because they were painted on wooden panels which were subsequently presented to shrines as votive plaques.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1921
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1921,0614,0.11
- Additional IDs
-
Asia painting number: Jap.Ptg.Add.16B (Japanese Painting Additional Number)
