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Wataya (The actor Osagawa Tsuneyo II as Churo Onoe)

Izumiya Ichibei (Japanese) (Publisher),Kansendo (Japanese) (Publisher),Utagawa Toyokuni (Japanese, 1769 - 1825) (Artist)1795

Asian Art Museum

Asian Art Museum
San Francisco, United States

The statuesque figure depicted here is the Kabuki actor Osagawa Tsuneyo II, who specialized in female roles. Standing beneath a blossoming cherry tree, his character, a woman named Churo Onoe, holds up an orange pouch. Such items were normally worn under one’s clothing and were used to hold a Buddhist amulet. The meaning of the gesture is unclear, but it likely represents a climactic moment in the performance. An oblong slip of paper used for inscribing poetry dangles from a branch, providing the series title, followed by the actor’s guild, Wataya. Originally this print was the left-hand sheet of a triptych with portraits of three famous actors of the time.

Details

  • Title: Wataya (The actor Osagawa Tsuneyo II as Churo Onoe)
  • Creator: Izumiya Ichibei (Japanese) (Publisher),Kansendo (Japanese) (Publisher),Utagawa Toyokuni (Japanese, 1769 - 1825) (Artist)
  • Date Created: 1795
  • Physical Dimensions: H. 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 in, H. 39.4 cm x W. 26.7 cm (oban)
  • Rights: Public Domain
  • Medium: Ink and colors on paper
  • Credit Line: Asian Art Museum, Gift of the Grabhorn Ukiyo-e Collection, 2005.100.97

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