Toyohara Kunichika
Japanese, 1835-1900
Nakamura Sōjūrō I as Sano Genzaemon
INV-1006
Toyohara Kunichika
Japanese, 1835-19001885
Nakamura Sōjūrō I as Sano Genzaemon
Toyohara Kunichika Japanese, 1835-1900 →Japanese (culture or style)woodblock printprint
Date
1885
Medium
Color woodblock print; ōban triptych
Dimensions
73 × 36.8 cm (28 3/4 × 14 1/2 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Purchased with funds provided by Nathalie Gookin in memory of Frederick W. Gookin
This scene comes from a Kabuki tale set in the Kamakura period (1192–1333). Featuring murder, revenge, and retribution, the plot revolves around the conflict between a samurai named Sano Genzaemon and the government of the time. Here we see Sano Genzaemon standing on a veranda at night with the sea in the background. He has drawn one of his swords as he tries to protect himself against an unseen and unknown assailant.
Also notable
Works in the same vein
Komurasaki of the Miuraya and Shirai Gompachi (Miuraya Komurasaki, Shirai Gompachi)
Kitagawa Utamaro 喜多川 歌麿 Japanese, c.1753-1806
Hamamatsu, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)," also known as the Tokaido with Poem (Kyoka iri Tokaido)
Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重 Japanese, 1797-1858
Mitsuke: Ferries Crossing the Tenryu River (Mitsuke, Tenryugawa funawatashi), from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)," also known as the Tokaido with Poem (Kyoka iri Tokaido)
Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重 Japanese, 1797-1858
