Kabuki Actor Ichikawa Ebizō (Ichikawa Danjūrō V) in the play The Colored Reins of a Loving Wife (Koi nyōbō somewake tazuna)

5th month, 1794

Not on view

Sharaku created bold and stylized depictions of Kabuki actors by focusing on bust portraits. He thus could concentrate on the facial expressions and hand gestures of his subjects.

In this portrait, one of Sharaku's most famous works, Ebizō (Danjūrō V) acts the part of a samurai warrior of tremendous integrity in a moment of insufferable moral conflict. Immediately afterward, he will commit seppuku, suicide by disembowelment, to preserve his honor. This close-up image of Danjūrō V in the role of Takemura Sadanoshin shows a strong sense of tension and immediacy.

Artwork Details

市川鰕蔵の竹村定之進
Title: Kabuki Actor Ichikawa Ebizō (Ichikawa Danjūrō V) in the play The Colored Reins of a Loving Wife (Koi nyōbō somewake tazuna)
Artist: Tōshūsai Sharaku (Japanese, active 1794–95)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: 5th month, 1794
Culture: Japan
Medium: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper with mica ground
Dimensions: 14 15/32 x 9 3/5 in. (36.8 x 24.4 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund and Rogers Fund, 1949
Object Number: JP3114
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Tōshūsai Sharaku

In the same medium

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Ichikawa Ebizō IV as Takemura Sadanojō in the Play Koinyōbō Somewake Tazuna, Tōshūsai Sharaku Japanese, Woodblock print; ink, color, white mica on paper, Japan — Ichikawa Ebizō IV as Takemura Sadanojō in the Play Koinyōbō Somewake Tazuna
Tōshūsai Sharaku
1794

Ichikawa Ebizo IV in the role of Takemura Sadanoshin, Tōshūsai Sharaku Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Ichikawa Ebizo IV in the role of Takemura Sadanoshin
Tōshūsai Sharaku
Probably late 1880s or early 1890s

The Actor Matsumoto Koshiro as Banzuin Chobei, Tōshūsai Sharaku Japanese, Monochrome woodblock print; ink on paper, Japan — The Actor Matsumoto Koshiro as Banzuin Chobei
Tōshūsai Sharaku

The Actor Onoye Matsusuke as a Ronin, Tōshūsai Sharaku Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — The Actor Onoye Matsusuke as a Ronin
Tōshūsai Sharaku

Matsumoto Koshiro IV as the Fish Peddler Gorobei, Tōshūsai Sharaku Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper with mica ground, Japan — Matsumoto Koshiro IV as the Fish Peddler Gorobei
Tōshūsai Sharaku
Probably late 1880s or early 1890s

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