Accession Number
2011/2.191.3

Title
Celebratory Soga for the New Year: Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII as Sweets Seller Totsukeihei

Artist(s)
Utagawa Kunisada

Artist Nationality
Japanese (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
1848

Medium & Support
woodblock print on paper

Dimensions
14 3/4 in x 30 in (37.47 cm x 76.2 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Sharlynn and Andrew Circo, in memory of Sotokichi Katsuizumi

Subject matter
Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII was born in Edo in 1823 and active from 1827. He was the oldest son of Ichikawa Danjūrō VII and brother of Ichikawa Danjūrō IX. He was known for his roles in jidaimono (period plays) as well as sewamono (contemporary plays). He committed suicide in 1854.

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
In this print, a man sits on a bench with his arms crossed.  His right leg is pulled up on the bench.  He wears green and white trousers and a purple robe decorated with sickles, the character “nu”, and circles.  Behind him is a plum branch and a tall container.
 
This is the right panel of a triptych (with 2011/2.191.1 and 2011/2.191.2).
 
Inscriptions: Toyokuni ga (Artist's signature); Yamaguchi Tōbei (Publisher's seal); Hama and Kinugasa (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
benches (furniture)
men (male humans)
plum (plant)
theater (discipline)