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A work made of color woodblock print; hosoban.

Ichikawa Monnosuke II as Shimokōbe Shōji Yukihira and Segawa Yūjiro I as Matsukaze, Sister of Togashi no Saemon, in “Your Favorite Play: The Subscription List” (Gohiiki Kanjinchō)

c. 1773

Katsukawa Shunsho 勝川 春章 Japanese, 1726-1792

Japan

These paired prints may be the left and center sheets of a triptych showing a dance sequence within a Kabuki play performed at the Nakamura Theater in Edo (now Tokyo) in 1773. It tells the story of a young warrior out viewing maple leaves at the height of autumn. He meets a beautiful stranger who is really a mountain demon in disguise. The actor portraying her is holding up a demon (hannya) mask.

Color woodblock print; hosoban

Arts of Asia