Description:
left panel of a vertical ōban triptych; yakusha-e; nishiki-e
Label Text:
This print is signed at lower-right "Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi ga" ('drawn by Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi'). Immediately above the signature are the nanushi seals of censors Hama Yahei (left) and Kinugusa Fusajirō (right), who sealed together variously from 1847–1848. The seal of the publisher, who is currently identified but known as "Wakau" (the reading of the characters within the cartouche), is visible to the left of the signature. The title of the triptych is indicated in black text at upper-left. The red cartouche at middle-right identifies the actor's role as Teranishi Kanshin, a rōnin who appears in several kabuki plays.
The "Nekomata" of the title refers to the a legendary and monstrous two-tailed giant ghost cat, whose claws can be seen at the middle-right of the panel. The complete triptych reveals a gigantic apparition of a cat across the background of all three panels (see: "Utagawa Kuniyoshi 1797–1861" exh. cat. Riccar Art Museum, November 23–December 24, 1978, cat. no. 291). Another impression of this panel, held in the Tsubouchi Theatre Museum at Waseda University, Tokyo, identifies the actor as Sawamura Sōjūrō V, a name held by Suketakaya Takasuke III from ca. 1844–1848.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=AC+2005.394 |
