Actor Nakamura Nakazō I as Yamaoka no Saburō, in “The Ever-Blooming Potted Tree” (Kawaranu Hanasakae Hachino Ki)
Ippitsusai Buncho
1764–1774
- Medium
- Color woodblock print; hosoban
- Dimensions
- 32.7 × 15.2 cm (12 7/8 × 6 in.) (untrimmed)
- Genre
- woodblock print
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Tags
printasian artJapanese (culture or style)woodblock print
About
As with hundreds of Kabuki plays, the libretto for the one that is the basis for this print, The Ever-Blooming Potted Tre e, has not survived. Its plot apparently involves a maple-viewing party made up of a group of beautiful women and demons. (Viewing the changing colors of maple leaves in the fall is still a popular Japanese pastime.) In the dance sequence pictured here, the actor is about to confront a thief who attempted to steal a treasured demon mask.
