Accession Number
2003/1.583.1

Title
Thousand-year Crane & New Year's Decoration Soga Brothers: Ichimura Kakitsu IV as the chivalrous Nozarashi Gosuke

Artist(s)
Utagawa Kunisada II

Artist Nationality
Japanese (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
1865

Medium & Support
woodblock print on paper

Dimensions
14 7/16 in x 9 3/4 in (36.67 cm x 24.77 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Dr. James Hayes

Subject matter
Actor Ichimura Kakitsu IV also held the names Ichimura Uzaemon XIII and Onoe Kikugorō V.  He was born to a family of kabuki actors in Edo in 1844.  He was active from the time he was a child, in 1848, until shortly before his death in 1903.  He was known for his roles in contemporary plays and was the head of the Nakamura-za in 1869.  He was one of the most famous actors of the Meiji period (1868-1912).

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.

 

Physical Description
A man reaches his left hand off the edge of the print. He wears a purple robe with a skull and grass pattern, and a sword is visible under his left arm. A green and white banner hangs over the bright blue background. At the center of the banner is a red and white crest, a circle with five leaves and a fan in the center.

This is the left print of a diptych (with 2003/1.583.2).

Inscriptions: Otokotachi Nozarashi Gosuke; Ichimura Kakitsu; Publisher's seal: Kichi Isekane: Censors' seal: Ushi 2, aratame; Artist's signature: Kunisada ga

Primary Object Classification
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
kabuki
men (male humans)
skulls (skeleton components)
swords
theater (discipline)
towels