Ichikawa Danjūrō VII as Arajishi Otokonosuke Looking at Himself in a Hand Mirror Artist: Utagawa Toyokuni I (Japanese, 1769–1825)

ca. 1820

Asian Art

By appointment, Duffy Study Room

初代歌川豊国　荒獅子男之介 役市川團十郎　江戸時代


His face painted in crimson and safflower pink, the actor Ichikawa Danjūrō VII glares at his reflection in a mirror, perfecting the expression he will assume for his tableau. Mirror gazing—concentrating on one’s role before appearing on the stage—is a practice more commonly associated with classical Noh theater, but Kabuki performers also use mirrors to apply their stage makeup. The elaborate makeup seen here, known as kumadori, is a striking and fundamental element of expressing character in Kabuki; the deep red shades may be used to denote anger, bravery, conviction, or ferocity. In the play for which Danjūrō here prepares, his character, Arajishi Otokonosuke, attempts to prevent misfortune to his master’s house by overcoming a dark magus disguised as a large rat.

Medium

Surimono, shikishi-ban; polychrome woodblock print with gauffrage

Dimensions

sheet: 8 11/16 × 7 5/16 in. (22 × 18.5 cm)

Credit Line

Promised gift of Virginia Shawan Drosten and Patrick Kenadjian, B.A. 1970

Loan number

ILE2017.30.66

Geography

Japan

Culture

Japanese

Period

Edo period (1615–1868)

Classification

Prints

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Joan B. Mirviss (dealer), New York; sold to Virginia Shawan Drosten and Patrick Kenadjian, Koenigstein im Taunus, Germany, 2002 (on loan to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 2017–present)
Bibliography
  • Sadako Ohki and Adam Haliburton, The Private World of Surimono: Japanese Prints from the Virginia Shawan Drosten and Patrick Kenadjian Collection (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 2020), 207–9, no. 57, ill
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Object/Work type

color woodcuts, surimono

Inscriptions

Sakuragawa Oya no Omokage\r\n\r\nyukige shite\r\nyama no hitai mo\r\naoao to\r\nkasumi kumadoru\r\nharu no nodokesa\r\n\r\n\r\nSakuragawa Jihinari:\r\n\r\nbeni no iro\r\nkoishiki toki wa\r\nmatsuyama no\r\nkagami wo zo miru \r\nmine no ume ga e\r\n\r\n\r\nAH 12/11/17\r\n\r\nOmokage:\r\nShorn of snow, \r\nthe bald-faced mountain\r\nis painted over\r\nwith the green mists\r\nof a mild spring.\r\n\r\n\r\nJihinari:\r\nWhen his longing for \r\nthe crimson (face) grows deep \r\nhe gazes into the fabled mirror of Matsuyama, \r\nand at the sprig of plum \r\natop the peak.\r\n\r\n桜川親廼面影\r\n\r\n雪解して　山の額も　青ゝと　霞く満とる　春能長閑さ\r\n\r\n\r\n桜川慈悲成\r\n\r\n紅の色　こいしき時ハ　松山乃　かゝミを楚見る　峰能梅可枝\r\n\r\n\r\nTranscribed by Sadako Ohki and Adam Haliburton 11/13/2017 \r\n12/4/17 revised after consultation with MT.

Signed

Toyokuni ga

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