“Act II, Scene 2: Along Train Tracks in America,” from the series The Strange Tale of the Castaways: A Western Kabuki

1879

Not on view

Ginkō depicts a scene from a contemporary Kabuki play—conceived as a flamboyant showcase of all things Western—by the noted playwright Kawatake Mokuami (1816–1893). The central subject, the actor Ichikawa Danjūrō IX, is portraying a Japanese sailor who, after being shipwrecked in the United States, is traveling by train and is attacked by two Native Americans who have derailed the steam locomotive. For Japanese print artists, there was no template for depicting Native Americans, and Ginkō’s representations evoke both Buddhist religious art, in which demons are represented with red skin, and stereotypical images of Native Americans created by white Americans and Europeans.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

References

安達吟光画　第二番目狂言　漂流奇譚　西洋劇　三幕目　アメリカ鉄道の場
Title: “Act II, Scene 2: Along Train Tracks in America,” from the series The Strange Tale of the Castaways: A Western Kabuki
Artist: Adachi Ginkō (Japanese, 1853–1902)
Period: Meiji period (1868–1912)
Date: 1879
Culture: Japan
Medium: Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; vertical ōban
Dimensions: image: 13 7/8 x 9 in. (35.2 x 22.9 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Bequest of William S. Lieberman, 2005
Object Number: 2007.49.323
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

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Ladies Sewing (Kijo saihō no zu), Adachi Ginkō Japanese, Triptych of woodblock prints (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper, Japan — Ladies Sewing (Kijo saihō no zu)
Adachi Ginkō
September 3rd, 1887

“Act II, Scene 5: At the Opera in Paris,” from the series The Strange Tale of the Castaways: A Western Kabuki, Adachi Ginkō Japanese, Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; vertical ōban, Japan — “Act II, Scene 5: At the Opera in Paris,” from the series The Strange Tale of the Castaways: A Western Kabuki
Adachi Ginkō
1879

Illustration of the Issuing of the State Constitution in the State Chamber of the New Imperial Palace, Adachi Ginkō Japanese, Triptych of woodblock prints (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper, Japan — Illustration of the Issuing of the State Constitution in the State Chamber of the New Imperial Palace
Adachi Ginkō
March 14, 1889

View of the Issuance of the State Constitution in the State Chamber of the New Imperial Palace, Adachi Ginkō Japanese, One sheet of a triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper, Japan — View of the Issuance of the State Constitution in the State Chamber of the New Imperial Palace
Adachi Ginkō
March 2, 1889 (Meiji 22)

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