Accession Number
2011/2.193.3

Title
Alphabetical Tales of Glory and Decline: Actors as the Boatmen Dairoku, Kanroku, Sagiroku, and Bunroku

Artist(s)
Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Artist Nationality
Japanese (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
1849-1852

Medium & Support
woodblock print on paper

Dimensions
30 3/4 in x 14 1/4 in (78.11 cm x 36.2 cm)

Subject matter
This play was originally written for bunraku puppet theater and first premiered in 1739. It is a dramatic telling of the Genpei Seisuiki, one of the medieval texts that gives the account of the twelfth-century battles between the Taira and Minamoto clans.
 

Physical Description
Four men are lined up close together, all holding onto an oar.  Each wears a red skirt, blue leg wraps, and purple and white shirts.  They each have their left legs raised as if to take a step.  Water is in the background behind them.

This is the right panel of a triptych (with 2011/2.193.1 and 2011/2.193.2).

Inscriptions: Sendō Dairoku; Onaji Kanroku; Onaji Sagiroku; Onaji Bunroku; Kuniyoshi ga (Artist's signature); To (Publisher's seal); Hama, Magome (Censor's seals)

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
beaches
boatmen
oceans
theater (discipline)