Utagawa's Lifetime Masterpiece, from the Japanese version of the Shuihu Zhuan

1863 (5th month)

Not on view

The Chinese vernacular novel known as the Shuihu Zhuan (Suikoden in Japanese), relating the adventures of the 108 heroes of Liangshan, became enormously popular in nineteenth-century Japan, and many Japanese novels imitating the Shuihu Zhuan were dramatized as Kabuki plays. Here, Kunisada has depicted ten major Kabuki actors in roles from a play by Yagura Suikoden.

Artwork Details

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Exhibition History

Title: Utagawa's Lifetime Masterpiece, from the Japanese version of the Shuihu Zhuan
Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (Japanese, 1786–1864)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: 1863 (5th month)
Culture: Japan
Medium: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions: 14 1/8 x 28 1/2 in. (35.9 x 72.4 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Gift of Lincoln Kirstein, 1960
Object Number: JP3376
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

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Actor as Tokihira, Utagawa Kunisada Japanese, Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper, Japan — Actor as Tokihira
Utagawa Kunisada
probably 1815

Kabuki Actor in a Female Role Standing with a Fan, Utagawa Kunisada Japanese, Part of an album of woodblock prints (surimono); ink and color on paper, Japan — Kabuki Actor in a Female Role Standing with a Fan
Utagawa Kunisada
19th century

Seishu Awabi-tori no Zu, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Seishu Awabi-tori no Zu
Utagawa Kunisada
ca. 1840

Banquet of the Next Full Moon at the Chrysanthemum Festival, from the series The Twelve Months (Chōyō nochi no tsuki no en, Jūni tsuki no uchi)
, Utagawa Kunisada Japanese, Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper, Japan — Banquet of the Next Full Moon at the Chrysanthemum Festival, from the series The Twelve Months (Chōyō nochi no tsuki no en, Jūni tsuki no uchi)
Utagawa Kunisada
1854

Memorial Portrait of Ichiryusai Hiroshige (1797–1858), Utagawa Kunisada Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Memorial Portrait of Ichiryusai Hiroshige (1797–1858)
Multiple artists/makers
1786–1864

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