Torii Kiyomitsu I

Segawa Kikunojō II

Maker

Torii Kiyomitsu I (Japanese, ca. 1735-1785)
Yamashiroya (Japanese), publisher

Title

Segawa Kikunojō II

Period

Edo (Japanese period)

Year

early 1760s

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

color, ink

Supports

Geography

Place Made: Japan; Place Made: Tokyo

Dimensions

Hosoban: 31 x 13.8 cm (12 3/16 x 5 7/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

[text and poems]
inscribed on print to right of actor Roko, a soubriquet of the actors Kikunojo I and II

Signature: Torii Kiyomitsu ga

Seals: Publisher's seal | Yamashiro han

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke

Object Number

20.1072

Type

Exhibition History

Striking Chords
Music in *Ukiyo-E* Prints
Feb 05, 2022 – Jul 31, 2022

Label copy

The elegant woman playing a hand drum (tsuzumi) is in fact an onnagata, or a male kabuki-theater actor impersonating a female character. This actor print (yakusha-e) depicts Segawa Kikunojo II (1741-1773), identified by the inscription on the right and the family crest on his sleeve. Depictions of actors on stage were popular, but off-stage images situating actors in private settings, amusing themselves with musical instruments-as in this print-delighted audiences who reveled in seeing their favorite actors behind the scenes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eng2KBI23E0

Women of the Floating World
Nov 09, 1990 – Jan 06, 1991
On Stage
Japanese Theater Prints
May 13, 1988 – Sep 04, 1988
Japanese Prints of the Kabuki
Sep 05, 1986 – Nov 23, 1986
Kabuki

Image use

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

Tombstone

Torii Kiyomitsu I (Japanese, ca. 1735-1785)
Yamashiroya (Japanese), publisher
Segawa Kikunojō II, early 1760s
Polychrome woodblock print (benizuri-e)
Hosoban: 31 x 13.8 cm (12 3/16 x 5 7/16 inches)
Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke 20.1072

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