Ichikawa Ebizō IV (Danjurō) as Takemura Sadanoshin in The Loving Wife's Parti-Colored Reins
1794
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
About the artist
1794
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Ichikawa Ebizō IV (Danjurō) as Takemura Sadanoshin in The Loving Wife's Parti-Colored Reins is a 1794 by Tōshū, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A man in a fierce scowl grips a sword, his face half-shadowed. His robe swirls with bold red and black patterns. The background is flat gold, so nothing distracts from his expression. This is a Kabuki actor playing a father who gets one last chance to see his daughter before she’s sent away. Fans bought prints like this to remember their favorite performers. The artist only worked for ten months—no one knows why he stopped. Look up *ukiyo-e* to see more prints from this time.
Ichikawa Ebizō IV’s (1741–1806) character, an actor called Takemura Sadanoshin, is permitted to perform opposite his daughter so he can see and hear her for the last time before her banishment for a forbidden love affair. This design belongs to a category of Japanese prints called “actor images” ( yakusha - e or 役者絵). They were collected by fans of popular Kabuki actors. Kabuki is a kind of entertainment that got its start in the early Edo period, evolving from dance performances with simple storylines to long plays with complex plots, elaborate sets, and full musical accompaniments.…
A member of the famous Ichikawa acting family, Ebizo IV is recognized here by his family crest of three nested boxes, visible on his robes.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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