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The Actor Onoe Matsusuke and Ōtani Hiroji III as Tamazukuri no Komachi and Hada no Daizen Taketora in Kisoe uta sakae Komachi at the Ichimura Theater
The Actor Onoe Matsusuke and Ōtani Hiroji III as Tamazukuri no Komachi and Hada no Daizen Taketora in Kisoe uta sakae Komachi at the Ichimura Theater

The Actor Onoe Matsusuke and Ōtani Hiroji III as Tamazukuri no Komachi and Hada no Daizen Taketora in Kisoe uta sakae Komachi at the Ichimura Theater

Artist/Maker (Japanese, 1735–1785)
Date1762
MediumWoodblock print (benizuri-e); ink and limited color on paper
DimensionsVertical hosoban; overall: 12 5/16 × 5 9/16 in. (31.3 × 14.1 cm)
Credit LineMary A. Ainsworth Bequest
Object number1950.220
Status
Not on view
More Information
A man playing a koto looks behind angrily at a woman who seems to be gesturing in a haughty manner for him to stop. She is the character Tamatsukuri no Komachi, a beautiful but cruel courtesan similar to the 9th-century aristocratic poet Ono no Komachi 小野小町.

Research has uncovered that this work refers to the play Kisoeuta sakae Komachi performed during the eleventh month of 1762. The figure playing the koto is the kabuki actor Ōtani Hiroji III (1746–1802) in the role of Hada no Taketora. The female character, played by Onoe Matsusuke (1744–1815), is Tamatsukuri no Komachi.
Exhibition History
Ukiyo-e Prints from the Mary Ainsworth Collection
  • Chiba City Museum of Art, Chiba, Japan (April 13, 2019 - May 25, 2019 )
  • Shizuoka City Museum of Art, Shizuoka, Japan (June 8, 2019 - July 28, 2019 )
  • Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts, Osaka, Japan (August 10, 2019 - September 29, 2019 )
Ukiyo-e Prints from the Mary Ainsworth Collection
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 14, 2020 - December 6, 2020 )
Collections
  • Asian