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Object Type
Museum number: 2014,3039.9
Description: Colour woodblock print with embossing. The Kabuki actor Arashi Kichisaburō II (Rikan) as Akizuki Daizen, in the play 'Sono no yuki koi no kumidai' 園雪恋組題 at the Naka theatre. Second month, 1816.
Producer name: Print artist: Katsushika Hokkei (葛飾北敬); Published by: Shioya Chobei (塩屋長兵衛)
School/style
Cultures/periods
Production date: 1816
Production place: Published in: Osaka-shi
Materials
Technique: woodblock; embossing; colour
Dimensions: Height: 36.60 centimetres; Width: 25.10 centimetres
$Inscriptions
Curator's comments: Akizuki Daizen was one of Rikan's most successful roles (see also 2014,3039.8). In the play--a variation on the puppet drama 'Shin usyuki monogatari' 新薄雪物語, first performed in the fifth month of 1741--Daizen is a swordsman who murders his rival. For this 1816 production, Rikan also performed as the loyal retainer Tsumahei. Another extant print shows Rikan in this role. The overall design of the Akizuki and Tsumahei prints suggests that they were originally issued as a diptych, a rare example of a single actor being shown in two different roles in the same design. The artist Hokkei was a great promoter of Rikan, producing most of his prints for performances by Rikan's troupe between about 1813 and 1818 (Gerstle 2005, cat. 177).
Bibliographic references
Location: Not on display
Exhibition history: 2005, BM, Kabuki Heroes on the Osaka Stage, 1780-1830.
Subjects
Associated names: Portrait of: Arashi Kichisaburo II 二代目嵐吉三郎; Representation of: Akizuki Daizen
Associated places: Associated with: Naka no shibai
Associated titles
Acquisition name: Purchased from: Prof C Andrew Gerstle; In Memory of: Rudolf Buch; In Memory of: Julie Buch
Funder name
Previous owner
Acquisition date: 2014
Department: Asia
Registration number: 2014,3039.9

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