Iwai Shijaku [I] as Kohina (left half of a diptych with 2003/1.420.2)

Accession Number
2003/1.420.1

Title
Iwai Shijaku [I] as Kohina (left half of a diptych with 2003/1.420.2)

Artist(s)
Utagawa Kunisada

Artist Nationality
Japanese (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
1822-1844

Medium & Support
woodblock print on paper

Dimensions
14 15/16 in. x 10 1/4 in. ( 38 cm x 26 cm )

Credit Line
Gift of Dr. James Hayes

Subject matter
This play is one of the many variations of the story of the Soga brothers, one of the most popular revenge stories of the Edo period.  The story is based on a late Kamakura period (1185-1333) book, Soga monogatari that tells the tale of two brothers, Jūrō and Gorō, who take revenge for their father on Kudō Suketsune in 1193.  The brothers were executed, and it is thought that the story may have been written to pacify their spirits.

Actor Iwai Shijaku I, also known as Iwai Hanshirō VII, was the oldest son of Iwai Hanshirō V.  He was born in 1804 and died in 1845.

Physical Description
The woman in this image stands in front of a long red bench.  She wears a colourful robe with a black top and tall sandals.  Her hair is elaborately decorated.  A flowering tree is visible behind her in front of the blue sky.
 
Inscriptions: Artist Signature: Kunisada ga; Publisher’s seal: Kyū ; Censor’s seal: kiwame; Kohina, Iwai Shijaku
 
This is the left panel of a triptych (the right panel, 2003/1.420.2).

Primary Object Classification
Print

Primary Object Type
color print

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
actors
benches (furniture)
kabuki
kimonos
theater (discipline)
women (female humans)

3 Related Resources

Japan Pax Tokugawa 1600-1868
(Part of: Empires and Colonialism)
Kabuki Images
(Part of 10 Learning Collections)
"Japan", Gender, etc.
(Part of: body, physicality and form; mod/contemporary religious imagery (Asia Galleries Winter 2022 DRAFT))

& Author Notes

Web Use Permitted