Act VII from the series The Storehouse of Loyal Retainers
1802
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
About the artist
1802
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Act VII from the series The Storehouse of Loyal Retainers is a 1802 by Kitagawa Utamaro, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This painting shows a scene with a dog and a letter. It's a funny take on a famous play. The artist used humor by changing the setting and parts of the story, making it relatable to the audience by including the original scene on the side for comparison. To learn more, check out the museum: The Cleveland Museum of Art.
This series gives a famous play a humorous spin by altering the setting and some parts of the narrative. Utamaro kept his jokes accessible by picturing the action of the original episode to the side of the main image for easy reference. In this print, a spy reading a letter is turned into a dog; both can be pronounced inu in Japanese. In the stage version of this scene, the loyal samurai Oboshi Yuranosuke reads an important letter relating details of the plot to avenge the unjust death of his master. The spy Kudayu also reads the note as it unrolls beneath the veranda. On the balcony, the…
Read the full account in the museum source.
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