Iwai Hanshirô IV in a Female Role / Katsukawa Shunshô

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About this Item

Record Details

Accession Number
1960/1.156
Title
Iwai Hanshirô IV in a Female Role
Artist Nationality
Japanese
Artist Life Dates
1726-1792
Medium and Support
color woodblock print on paper
Object Creation Date
2nd half of 18th century
Object Creation Place
Asia (continent)
Japan (nation)
Kanto (region)
Tokyo (metropolis)
Creation Place 1
Asia (continent)
Creation Place 2
Japan (nation)
Creation Place 3
Kanto (region)
Creation Place 4
Tokyo (metropolis)
Credit Line
Museum Purchase
Style/Group/Movement
ukiyo-e
Inscription
Signature: Shunsho ga
Dimensions
32.1 cm x 13.8 cm (12 5/8 in. x 5 7/16 in.)
Century
18th century
Primary Object Classification
Print
Primary Object Type
color print
Physical Description
Kabuki Actor Iwai Hanshiro IV in a role as a woman with a sword. The stage appears to be dark aside from a lantern on the ground behind her, which emanates a triangular stream of yellow light directly upwards. The woman looks alertly to her left, with her right hand within her long kimono sleeve, hovering just above the sword handle.
Subject Matter
The male and female figures in Japanese prints are often difficult to discern. The conspicuous difference is that men can be identified by the shaved tops of their heads. When an actor portrays a feminine role, he would wear a piece of cloth on his head to conceal the shaved area, as depicted in this print. The lantern indicates the woman in the drama is going out in the night. She was perhaps using the light as a signal to her lover while she hid in the dark. The artist’s rendering of the light adds a clever dramatic effect.
The artist Katsukawa Shunsho was a member of the Katsukawa school and studied with Miyagawa Shunsui. He is noted for producing particularly austere yakusha-e. The actor depicted in the print is Iwai Hanshiro IV, part of the Yamatoya guild. He was the son of a puppeteer and was one of the most famous onnagata players of the late 18th century. In this image, his female role is easily identified by the actor's covered head (male characters almost always having slightly shaved heads). This print uses the lantern light to dramatic effect - establishing the timeframe of the scene at night and further drawing attention to the figure of the actor.
Primary Keywords
kabuki
ukiyo-e
woodblock prints
Rights
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Technical Details

Image Size
636 x 1363
File Size
97 KB
Record
1960/1.156
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1960-sl-1.156/1960_1.156.jpg

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https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1960-SL-1.156:1960_1.156.JPG

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"Iwai Hanshirô IV in a Female Role; Katsukawa Shunshô." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1960-sl-1.156/1960_1.156.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 28, 2024.
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