The Actors Segawa Kikunojō III as Okiku, Nakayama Tomisaburō as Kasane, and Sawamura Sōjūrō III as Yoemon
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.Along with Shunkō (whose work is on the right), Shun’ei was an outstanding member of the Katsukawa school, which specialized in actor prints. The Katsukawa artists established a sophisticated set of visual codes for each individual based on actual facial features, though simplified and abstracted, to create “likeness portraits” (nigao-e). Through familiarity with these conventions, as well as hints provided by crests on costumes, Kabuki fans could easily identify their favorite actors.
Here, a scene from the play The Darkness of Love: Jealous Revenge in the Fifth Month (Koi no yami Satsuki no uwanari) includes Segawa Kikunojō III (1751–1810), on the right in the role of an old woman. He ranks as one of the three greatest onnagata, male actors who played women’s roles, in the history of Edo-period Kabuki.
Here, a scene from the play The Darkness of Love: Jealous Revenge in the Fifth Month (Koi no yami Satsuki no uwanari) includes Segawa Kikunojō III (1751–1810), on the right in the role of an old woman. He ranks as one of the three greatest onnagata, male actors who played women’s roles, in the history of Edo-period Kabuki.
Artwork Details
- 勝川春英画 「恋闇皐月嫐」 三代目瀬川菊之丞・中山富三郎・三代目沢村宗十郎
- Title: The Actors Segawa Kikunojō III as Okiku, Nakayama Tomisaburō as Kasane, and Sawamura Sōjūrō III as Yoemon
- Artist: Katsukawa Shun'ei 勝川春英 (Japanese, 1762–1819)
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: 1796
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Triptych of woodblock prints (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; hosoban
- Dimensions: Image (each ): 12 11/16 × 5 13/16 in. (32.2 × 14.7 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Lent by Lee E. Dirks
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art