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The Actor Ichikawa Ebizo III as Matsuomaru in the play <em>Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy</em>
Katsukawa Shunko 勝川春好 (1743-1812)
18th century
- Medium
- Color, lacquer black, and slight gold on silk
- Classification
- Paintings
- Dimensions
- H x W: 58.7 x 26.8 cm (23 1/8 x 10 9/16 in)
- Culture
- Japanese
- Museum
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Asian Art
- Credit line
- Gift of Charles Lang Freer
- Rights
- CC0 (Smithsonian Open Access), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Smithsonian Institution
About this work
The kabuki play Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy (Sugawara denju tenarai kagami) relates the story of Sugawara no Michizane (845-903), a courtier and calligrapher who died in exile due to maneuvers by his enemies at court. Here the actor Ichikawa Ebizo III (formerly Ichikawa Danjuro IV, 1712-1778) plays Matsuomaru, a samurai attendant to Fujiwara no Tokijira (871-909), one of the courtiers who plotted against Michizane. With his features fixed in a menacing stare, the actor strikes a pose in a scene of confrontation. The actor wears a courtier's hat and carries a tall umbrella covered with a white case.
