Accession Number
2003/1.593

Title
Praying for Love in the Dew-Covered Fall Grasses: Iwai Shijaku I as a Maid Viewing the Cherry Blossoms

Artist(s)
Hokuei

Artist Nationality
Japanese (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
1831-1835

Medium & Support
woodblock print on paper

Dimensions
13 5/8 in x 8 13/16 in (34.6 cm x 22.4 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Dr. James Hayes

Subject matter
This image is part of a set of five, of which the museum has three. The prints depict each of the five roles Iwai Shijaku I performed in the play Praying for Love in the Dew-Covered Fall Grasses. In this print, he plays the part of a young woman at hanami, annual gatherings of cherry-blossom viewing.

Iwai Shijaku I was also known as Iwai Hanshiro VII. He was born in 1804 and active from 1806 until his death in 1845. He spent time acting in Edo as well as Osaka, where this play was performed in 1832.

Physical Description
In this image, a woman looks over her left shoulder while holding a fan delicately in two hands.  She wears a vibrantly colored robe, black at the top fading into white near the bottom.  It is covered in bright gold, blue, and red patterns.  Underneath she wears a pale blue and white patterned robe.  Her simple hair style is held up by two gold pins and a tie.  In the background are five crests, three blue and two red (very faded).

Inscriptions: Shunbaisai Hokuei ga (Artist's signature); Honsei (Publisher's seal); 千本の中におくれつ江戸桜　紫若 (Text); gohenka no uchi, hanami jōchū, Iwai Shijaku (Title)
 

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
actors (performing artists)
crests (motifs)
figures (representations)
kabuki
theater (discipline)