Image
Utagawa Hiroshige
Description
Maker
- Yoshimiya Sonokichi, Japanese, publisher
- Utagawa Hiroshige, 1797-1858, Japanese
- Sugawa Renkichi, Japanese, block carver
Title
Year
Medium
Materials/Techniques
-
Techniques
Supports
Dimensions
-
Sheet: 38.3 x 75.6 cm (15 1/16 x 29 3/4 inches)
Signature / Inscription / Marks
-
Tōdaiji keidai no uchi Hiroshige ga (on each sheet) | Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga (on center sheet) | Chōōrō Kuniyoshi ga (on right and left sheet)
Place
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Japan; Tokyo
Type
Credit
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Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke
Object Number
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20.1296
About
This print envisages a famous Kabuki play. At center, the warrior Taira no Kagekiyo (d. 1196) wields a long pole blade (naginata). He is waiting outside the Great Buddha Hall at Tōdaiji to assassinate his nemesis, Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199), the founder and first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate, a military feudal
government that ruled Japan until 1333.
Two print artists with distinct areas of expertise collaborated on this triptych: Kuniyoshi depicted the figures and Hiroshige created the landscape.
Tōdaiji keidai no uchi Hiroshige ga (on each sheet) | Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga (on center sheet) | Chōōrō Kuniyoshi ga (on right and left sheet)