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Utagawa Toyokuni

Sawamura Sojuro III (1753-1801) as Ume no Yoshibei (sandai (III) Sawamura Sojuro Ume no Yoshibei)

Maker

Utagawa Toyokuni (Japanese, 1769-1825
b. in Edo)

Title

Sawamura Sojuro III (1753-1801) as Ume no Yoshibei (sandai (III) Sawamura Sojuro Ume no Yoshibei)

Period

Edo (Japanese period)

Year

ca. 1796

Medium

  • Polychrome wood block print

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Polychrome wood block print

Materials

ink and color

Supports

  • paper

Geography

Place Made: Japan

Dimensions

Image: 37.2 x 25.4 cm (14 5/8 x 10 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signature: Toyokuni ga

Seals: Publisher's seal | Senichi han

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Bequest of Isaac C. Bates

Object Number

13.1404

Type

  • Prints

Exhibition History

Edo Theater
The Drama of Kabuki
Jan 18, 2008 – May 18, 2008

Label copy

The performance by Sawamura Sojuro III (1753-1801) as Ume no Yoshibei set the standard for subsequent actors playing the role. He debuted it at the Kiri Theater, January 1796, in the play Sumida no haru geisha katagi by Namiki Gohei. The character is an otokodate, a type of street tough glorified on the kabuki stage as a hero of the common people. The blue area on this actor's forehead is exposed skin, a convention used in depicting kabuki actors, who had to shave their heads. This is the left panel of a diptych whose right panel shows Segawa Kikunojo III (1751-1810) as Chokichi.

Courtesans and Actors
Popular Culture in Edo Period Japan
Sep 20, 1996 – Dec 08, 1996
Kabuki Actor Prints from the Late Eighteenth Century
Sep 14, 1990 – Nov 04, 1990
On Stage
Japanese Theater Prints
May 13, 1988 – Sep 04, 1988
Japanese Prints of the Kabuki
Sep 05, 1986 – Nov 23, 1986
  • More Exhibition History +

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Utagawa Toyokuni (Japanese, 1769-1825
b. in Edo)
Izumiya Ichibei 和泉屋市兵衛 (Japanese, ca. 1686–1886 in Edo, Japan), publisher
Sawamura Sojuro III (1753-1801) as Ume no Yoshibei (sandai (III) Sawamura Sojuro Ume no Yoshibei), ca. 1796
Polychrome wood block print
Image: 37.2 x 25.4 cm (14 5/8 x 10 inches)
Bequest of Isaac C. Bates 13.1404

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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