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Mitsuuji with Mountain Roses (Yamabuki), from the series “Six Jewel Faces” (Mu tama-gao)

mid- to late 1830s
Not on view
Mitsuuji, the samurai protagonist of A Fraudulent Murasaki’s Rustic Genji, is shown in this half-bust portrait on a fan print. His “lobster-tail” topknot, flipped forward and split in front (not how elite samurai actually wore their hair), became a trademark feature of depictions by Utagawa Kunisada and his disciples. The colorful background, with explosions of tie-dyed floral motifs, is a reminder of how Kunisada made all his thousands of Genji-print designs a visual record of different textile patterns of the day.

The title Six Jewel Faces (Mu tama-gao), along with its allusion to the literary theme of Six Jewel Rivers, suggests that this set of fan prints captures the appearance of a half-dozen attractive individuals, and, indeed, the other five works in the set show images of beautiful women, mostly courtesans of the pleasure quarters.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 歌川国貞 （三代歌川豊国）画　「六玉顔」 山吹を持つ光氏
  • Title: Mitsuuji with Mountain Roses (Yamabuki), from the series “Six Jewel Faces” (Mu tama-gao)
  • Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (Japanese, 1786–1864)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: mid- to late 1830s
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Uncut fan print; ink and color on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 9 × 11 3/4 in. (22.9 × 29.8 cm)
    Sheet: 9 × 11 3/4 in. (22.9 × 29.8 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Alan and Barbara Medaugh Gift, 2019
  • Object Number: 2019.3
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

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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