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Ukie ganso Edo kabuki ōshibai no zu (The Grand Performance of Kabuki in the Eastern Capital by the Pioneer of Perspective Pictures)


Katsushika Hokusai, Ukie ganso Edo kabuki ōshibai no zu (The Grand Performance of Kabuki in the Eastern Capital by the Pioneer of Perspective Pictures), ca. 1787, color woodblock print on paper; ōban nishiki-e, The Mary Andrews Ladd Collection, public domain, 32.395

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Title

Ukie ganso Edo kabuki ōshibai no zu (The Grand Performance of Kabuki in the Eastern Capital by the Pioneer of Perspective Pictures)

Related Titles

catalog entry: Ukie ganso Edo kabuki ôshibai no zu (The Grand Performance of Kabuki in the Eastern Capital, by the Pioneer of Perspective Pictures)

original language: 浮絵元祖東都歌舞伎大芝居の図

translated: The Grand Performance of Kabuki in the Eastern Capital by the Pioneer of Perspective Pictures

transliterated: Ukie ganso Edo kabuki ōshibai no zu

Artist

Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, 1760–1849)

Related People

publisher: Nishimura Yohachi (Japanese, active mid-19th century)

Date

ca. 1787

Period

Japan: Edo period (1615-1868)

Medium

color woodblock print on paper; ōban nishiki-e

Dimensions (H x W x D)

image: 9 1/16 in x 14 11/16 in; sheet: 10 1/4 in x 15 3/16 in

Inscriptions & Markings

publisher's mark: 永壽堂西村屋再版 / 永壽堂 [enclosed in a square seal], printed in black, lower right Transliteration (Translation): Eijudō Nishimuraya saihan / Eijudō (reprinted by Nishimuraya of the Eijudō studio [followed by the seal of publisher Nishimuraya Yohachi 西村屋与八]) Language: Japanese Description: Edo publisher, firm Eijudō 永寿堂 active c.1751-1860.

publisher's mark: , printed in black, lower right Translation: [seal of publisher Nishimuraya Yohachi 西村屋与八] Language: Japanese Description: Edo publisher, firm Eijudō 永寿堂 active c.1751-1860.

signature: 勝春朗画, printed, center right Transliteration (Translation): Katsu Shunrō ga (picture [by] Katsu[kawa] Shunrō) Language: Japanese Description: Hokusai used the name Katsukawa Shunrō, given to him by his teacher Katsukawa Shunshō, at the beginning of his career as a young ukiyo-e artist.

title: 浮絵元祖東都歌舞伎大芝居之圖, printed, upper right Transliteration (Translation): Ukie ganso Edo kabuki ōshibai no zu (picture of the grand performance of kabuki in Edo [from the] pioneer of perspective pictures) Language: Japanese Description: The characters 東都 (Eastern Capital, normally read Tōto) are glossed in furigana, giving the reading as "Edo."

Collection Area

Asian Art; Graphic Arts

Category

Prints

Japanese Traditional Prints

Object Type

relief print

Culture

Japanese

Credit Line

The Mary Andrews Ladd Collection

Accession Number

32.395

Copyright

public domain

Terms

Edo

Japanese woodblock prints

nishiki-e

oban

relief printing

relief prints

The Mary Andrews Ladd Collection

theaters

woodcuts

Description

From Objects of Contact: Encounters between Japan and the West

The linear perspective deployed in Japanese uki-e or "perspective pictures" was picked up from imported European engravings. The architecture of kabuki playhouses lent themselves easily to this pictorial device, making them a popular subject. This rare print was designed by Hokusai early in his career, when he was still using the art name Katsukawa Shunrō.

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