Arashi Rikan II as Danshichi Kurōbei in "Mirror of Naniwa: The Summer Festival"

color woodblock printShunbaisai Hokuei (Japanese, d. 1837)/1832

Description

This print shows Arashi Rikan II (1788–1837) acting in a Kabuki play put on at the Chikugoza Theater in Osaka in 1832. Rikan’s character, Danshichi Kurōbei, was among the otokodate roles, or men who stood up for those without much power in society. Mirror of Naniwa: The Summer Festival remains popular today and has the most well-known Kabuki murder scene, in which Danshichi kills his devious father-in-law, Mikawaya Giheiji. Rikan strikes multiple dramatic poses, called mie, during the episode, which features real mud on the stage.

Provenance

(R. E. Lewis, Inc., California, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Dimensions

35.7 × 24.4 cm

Source

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Movement / Period

Japanese Art

Accession No

1980.84

Official Citations

[The Cleveland Museum of Art Official Record][Full Resolution Image]

Curatorial Affinity Stream

Continuing the Universe of Shunbaisai Hokuei (Japanese, d. 1837)

Japanese Art • Japan, Edo period (1615–1868) • Harmonious Works & Contemporaries

Continuous Discovery