Backstage Celebrations of a Full-house Hit at the Ichimura Theater

Accession Number
1969/2.148

Title
Backstage Celebrations of a Full-house Hit at the Ichimura Theater

Artist(s)
Utagawa Kunisada

Artist Nationality
Japanese (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
1811

Medium & Support
woodblock print on paper

Dimensions
12 1/2 in x 9 7/8 in (31.75 cm x 25.08 cm)

Credit Line
Museum purchase for the Paul Leroy Grigaut Memorial Collection

Subject matter
This print shows the interior of the Ichimura-za theatre, one of three kabuki theatres in Edo (Tokyo) and home to many famous kabuki actors. The theatre opened in 1667. It burned down and was rebuilt several times through the nineteenth and early twentieth century. However, after burning in 1932 it was never rebuilt.

Physical Description
This image shows men and women moving around an interior space. At the front, a group of men carries a tray of bowls, while another near the center carries a rolled up mat. At the back of the image, a man is visible through a gap in the wall doing his makeup. A red mat is visible at the far right of the image.

This is the left panel of a triptych (with 1969/2.146 and 1969/2.147).

Inscriptions: Nishimuraya Yohachi (Publisher's seal); Kunisada ga (Artist's signature); Kiwame + Tsuruya Kinsuke (Censors' 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
actors (performing artists)
backstages
calligraphy
interiors
theaters (institutions)

2 Related Resources

Japan Pax Tokugawa 1600-1868
(Part of: Empires and Colonialism)
Celebrity
(Part of 9 Learning Collections)

& Author Notes

Web Use Permitted