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Memorial Portrait of the Actor Ichikawa Ōmezō I

Painting by Utagawa Kunisada Japanese
Inscription by Ichikawa Danjūrō VII Japanese
painting ca. 1833; inscription dated 1858
Not on view
Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ōmezō I (1781–1833) is shown in a formal pose, wearing a persimmon brown ceremonial kimono (kamishimo). Omezō was a leading man (tachiyaku) known for his penetrating eyes and distinctive hooknose. In 1858, probably for a memorial service for Ōmezo’s twenty-seventh death anniversary, an inscription was added by prominent Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjūrō VII (Ebizō V). In distinctive, dynamic cursive calligraphy, he eulogized his mentor, referring to him by the name Sōdai:

From the time of my youth, until I became a serious actor, I knew the joys of the path of acting in the Ichikawa lineage, and never lost enthusiasm for the aragoto style, and the acting methods that should last forever.

For a long while,
he made it his duty
to lend me support from
the depths of his heart—
Ichikawa Sōdai.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 初代市川男女蔵像
  • Title: Memorial Portrait of the Actor Ichikawa Ōmezō I
  • Artist: Painting by Utagawa Kunisada (Japanese, 1786–1864)
  • Artist: Inscription by Ichikawa Danjūrō VII (Japanese, 1791–1859)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: painting ca. 1833; inscription dated 1858
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
  • Dimensions: Image: 35 9/16 × 12 5/8 in. (90.3 × 32 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 70 × 18 7/8 in. (177.8 × 47.9 cm)
    Overall with knobs: 70 × 21 1/4 in. (177.8 × 54 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2021
  • Object Number: 2021.139
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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