Onoe Matsusuke as Usui Sadamitsu

1781

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Dominant colour

Onoe Matsusuke as Usui Sadamitsu is a 1781 by Katsukawa Shunzan, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Katsukawa Shunzan
When & what style?: 1781 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

This painting shows Onoe Matsusuke as Usui Sadamitsu. He's dressed in a robe with a large house crest on it. The crest and a fan with an ideograph reveal his identity. The painting is part of a triptych, showing three actors. They portray protectors of an imperial regent from history. To learn more about similar art, look up the museum: The Cleveland Museum of Art.

The story of this work

Overview

This print is part of a triptych (a composition of three prints) that shows actors portraying three of the four famed protectors of imperial regent Minamoto Yorimitsu (948?–1021). Collectively, they are known as his Shitennō (四天王), or “Four Heavenly Kings,” after the Buddhist deities who guard the four cardinal directions. The characters are indicated by the large house crests on their robes. The actor Onoe Matsusuke I’s identity is revealed by a fan with the ideograph matsu (松), or “pine,” tucked into his robe, just against his breastplate.

Read the full account in the museum source.