Collection
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Asian Art

Ichikawa Danjuro VII in the role of an Elderly Woodcutter

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Object Label

The small scale and delicate printing of this image indicate that it was a private commission, or surimono print. It was created for a poetry club to celebrate the new year; the loosely written inscription on the left is a poem about spring. This was the center image in a trio of prints depicting players in a dance-drama about Kintarō, the boy superhero of Japanese legends. Here, Ichikawa Danjūrō VII, the most prominent Kabuki star of his generation, dons a white wig and wields a giant axe to play an elderly woodcutter, one of the few humans who helped raise young Kintarō as he grew up in the wilderness.

Caption

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786–1865). Ichikawa Danjuro VII in the role of an Elderly Woodcutter, circa 1828. Woodblock print, shikishiban format; deluxe printing, 6 5/16 x 7 7/8 in. (16 x 20 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Dr. Eleanor Z. Wallace in memory of her husband, Dr. Stanley L. Wallace, 2002.121.6. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

Asian Art

Title

Ichikawa Danjuro VII in the role of an Elderly Woodcutter

Date

circa 1828

Period

Edo Period

Geography

Place made: Japan

Medium

Woodblock print, shikishiban format; deluxe printing

Classification

Print

Dimensions

6 5/16 x 7 7/8 in. (16 x 20 cm)

Signatures

Signed: "Gototei Kunisada ga"

Inscriptions

Poem reads: Crossing over hills Passing through valleys, even when just a chick the bush warbler was drawn to the spring breeze. Signed Fukutokyo of Kawagoe

Markings

Sealed: Toshidama (double loop below signature, LR corner: this is two otoshidama parcels, which are coins wrapped in cloth, given to children at New Years). Poetry Club: Shipporen (red seal UR corner)

Credit Line

Gift of Dr. Eleanor Z. Wallace in memory of her husband, Dr. Stanley L. Wallace

Accession Number

2002.121.6

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Artists and makers

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)

24 works in the collection