The Actor Ichikawa Ebizō III as Shinozuka Iga no kami Sadatsuna in a Shibaraku Scene
The Ichikawa family was renowned for performing in heroic "Shibaraku" (“Stop Right There!”) scenes, especially as part of season opening plays in the eleventh month. Shown in such a performance, Ichikawa Ebizō III (1711–1778), also earlier known as Matsumoto Kōshirō II or Danjūrō IV, wears a persimmon red robe with a huge family crest of three nested squares (mimasu), partly hidden here. His face shows red lines on white makeup, and he wears an elaborate wig.
Shunkō portrayed the famous Ichikawa family actor in the role of the warrior Shinozuka Iga no kami Sadatsuna, one of top retainers of the Nitta clan. He is holding a container, inscribed with the characters mi-kuji 御鬮 used for holding fortune-telling sticks or arrows, which in in this case had been used to determine whether the chief general would be from his clan or the Ashikaga—the latter was selected. Ebizō is shown striking a dramatic pose (mie) at the moment he is protesting a decision after the Ashikaga general was selected. This print was most certainly designed as the left sheet of triptych; a rare surviving example of the right sheet shows Nakajima Mihoemon II as Bōmon no Saishō Kiyotada (see Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, acc. no 11.17033).
Shunkō portrayed the famous Ichikawa family actor in the role of the warrior Shinozuka Iga no kami Sadatsuna, one of top retainers of the Nitta clan. He is holding a container, inscribed with the characters mi-kuji 御鬮 used for holding fortune-telling sticks or arrows, which in in this case had been used to determine whether the chief general would be from his clan or the Ashikaga—the latter was selected. Ebizō is shown striking a dramatic pose (mie) at the moment he is protesting a decision after the Ashikaga general was selected. This print was most certainly designed as the left sheet of triptych; a rare surviving example of the right sheet shows Nakajima Mihoemon II as Bōmon no Saishō Kiyotada (see Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, acc. no 11.17033).
Artwork Details
- 三代目市川海老蔵の篠塚伊賀守定綱
- Title: The Actor Ichikawa Ebizō III as Shinozuka Iga no kami Sadatsuna in a Shibaraku Scene
- Artist: Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章 (Japanese, 1726–1792)
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: 1775 (An'ei 4), 11th month
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Left sheet of a triptych of woodblock prints (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
- Dimensions: Vertical hosoban; Image: 12 3/8 × 5 1/2 in. (31.4 × 14 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1918
- Object Number: JP419
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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