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A Kabuki actor as the bandit Shiro in falling snow, from the play Five Courageous Bandits in Five Colors, white

Toyohara Kunichika1850-1900

Asian Art Museum

Asian Art Museum
San Francisco, United States

This print depicts a stylish bandit staring into the night sky, which is filled with snowflakes. He wears a fashionable scarf around his neck to protect himself from the cold.
In Kabuki theater, bandits are not supervillains, nor are they common thieves. Instead they are decent human beings torn between their obligations and their emotions; some bandit characters even have heroic potential. In the end bandits either repent of their crimes and become "good guys," or are arrested and killed.
Play: Isami no Shiranami Goshiki no Sometsuke, "Shiro"
Actor: unknown
Print format: oban
Publisher: not deciphered

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  • Title: A Kabuki actor as the bandit Shiro in falling snow, from the play Five Courageous Bandits in Five Colors, white
  • Creator: Toyohara Kunichika (Japanese, 1835 - 1900) (Artist)
  • Date Created: 1850-1900
  • Physical Dimensions: H. 13 1/2 in x W. 9 3/8 in, H. 34.3 cm x W. 24 cm
  • Rights: Public Domain
  • Medium: Ink and colors on paper
  • Credit Line: Asian Art Museum, Gift of Toshiro Nakayama, 2010.256
Asian Art Museum

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