Witty Matchings of the Thirty-Six Poets (Mitate Sanjurokkasen no uchi)

Object Details

Label: In this print, Ichikawa Danjuro VI is depicted in the role of Arajishi Otonosuke in a play dealing with the troubles of the Date clan in the fourteenth century. He wears the striking kumadori stage makeup that was introduced by Danjuro I in the late seventeenth century. He holds an iron-framed fan that he used as a weapon in the play to thwart Nikki Danjo, the villain who transformed himself into a rat to steal a scroll. This print is one of a series created by Kunisada in 1852, when he produced a large number of half-length actor portraits. In this series, each actor is matched with one of the Thirty-six Poets, in this case Mibu no Tadamine (flourished 898-920). The poem alludes to the rat-day of the New Year when pine seedlings were gathered as auspicious symbols of longevity:; Rat-day festivities-; if there were no pine saplings in the fields; to serve as a symbol of long life; what would we have to pull up?; Translation of poem by John T. Carpenter
Collection: National Museum of Asian Art Collection
Exhibition History: Masterful Illusions: Japanese Prints from the Anne van Biema Collection (September 15, 2002 to January 9, 2003)

Related Online Resources: Google Cultural Institute
See more items in: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Topic: Edo period (1615 - 1868); poetry; kabuki; Japan; actor; ukiyo-e; Japanese Art; Anne van Biema collection

GUID (Link to Original Record): http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye38f48d902-5cd7-4cc8-8606-104280384203