- Provenance
- Provenance research underway.
- Label
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Nakamura Utaemon III appears here in the role of Kan Shojo (Sugawara no Michizane, 845-903) in the kabuki play, Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy (Sugawara denju tenarai kagami). The performance took place in the third month of 1823 and Utaemon performed seven roles. The play is loosely based on the biography of the ill-fated aristocrat and calligrapher who was maneuvered into exile by his rivals at court. This portrait has a printed wood-grain background and frame with black ornaments that represent iron fittings. The effect replicates an ema, a votive panel presented as an offering at a Shinto shrine. The word hono (offering) is written (right to left) at the top of the frame. A haiku (hokku) signed Shikan, Utaemon's poetry name, expresses his pleasure that with the arrival of spring he can wear flowery robes and the cotton textiles from Kawachi:
Spring has arrived-
so I don flowery robes
and Kawachi cotton.
Translation of poem by John T. Carpenter
- Published References
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- Ann Yonemura, et al. Masterful Illusions: Japanese Prints from the Anne van Biema Collection. Seattle and Washington. cat. 50, pp. 152-153.
- Collection Area(s)
- Japanese Art
- Web Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- SI Usage Statement
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Usage Conditions Apply
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CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)
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Usage Conditions Apply
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
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International Image Interoperability Framework
FS-7447_11