Portrait of Yamamoto Kansuke

Maker(s)
Artist: Gion Seitoku (?-1827)
Historical period(s)
Edo period, late 18th-early 19th century
Medium
Ink and color on paper
Dimensions
H x W (image): 123.6 x 39 cm (48 11/16 x 15 3/8 in)
Geography
Japan
Credit Line
Purchase — funds provided by the Friends of Asian Arts and the Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1995.1
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Hanging scroll

Keywords
Edo period (1615 - 1868), Japan, kakemono, portrait
Provenance

To 1995
David Newman, London, acquired from a private Japanese collection, to 1995 [1]

From 1995
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from David Newman in 1995

Notes:

[1] According to Curatorial Note 3 in the object record.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

David Newman

Label

Legend holds that Yamamoto Kansuke, a brilliant military strategist described  as homely, crippled, and blind in one eye, served the warlord Takeda Shigen (1521-1573).  In 1561 Kansuke took responsibility for losses caused by his flawed battle plan  and retrieved his honor by offering his own life.


In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Kansuke legend was depicted in  kabuki plays and woodblock prints. This unusual format of a painted portrait was created by an artist best known for his depictions of pleasure district courtesans. This painting complements a more typical Japanese painting of a beautiful woman, known as a "beauty" painting, by Seitoku, which is already in the Freer collection.

Published References
  • et al. Nikuhitsu Ukiyo-e. 10 vols., Tokyo. vol. 9: pl. 13.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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