“Act II, Scene 2: Along Train Tracks in America,” from the series The Strange Tale of the Castaways: A Western Kabuki
by Adachi Ginkō
- Date:
- 1879
- Medium:
- Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; vertical ōban
- Source:
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
Description
Two red-faced figures in Western dress — one in a black coat, one in a purple jacket and striped trousers, both wearing tall yellow feathered headdresses — assault a man in a black Western suit and a woman in a white undergarment sprawled on the ground beside him; the standing figure raises a wooden club overhead while the crouching figure grips the woman's wrist. The scene is set outdoors at night beside a wrecked wooden structure, under a dark blue sky with a pale moon behind grey clouds and a tree with reddish-brown bark at left; the ground is olive-brown, with a black top hat visible at lower right. Cartouches with actor and role names in Japanese fill the composition; this is Adachi Ginkō's 1879 nishiki-e woodblock print (ink and color on paper, vertical ōban), "Act II, Scene 2: Along Train Tracks in America," from the series The Strange Tale of the Castaways: A Western Kabuki.
More Prints by Adachi Ginkō
Memorial portrait of the actor Iwai Hanshiro VIII
1882
Color woodblock print; oban
Kabayama, the Chief of Naval Staff, Attacking Enemy Ships from onboard Saikyomaru (Kabayama gunreibucho Saikyomaru o motte tekikan ni ataru)
1894
Color woodblock print; oban triptych
The Beginning of the Korean Incident (Sono hajime Chosen hottan)
1894
Color woodblock print; oban triptych
Lieutenant Commander Sakakibara Fighting Bravely to the South of Ximucheng (Takubokujo nan ni oite Sakakibara shosa funsen no zu)
1895
Color woodblock print; oban triptych
More Rain Prints
Rain Shower at Shо̄no, from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tо̄kaidо̄ (Tо̄kaidо̄ gojusan tsugi)
1962
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Shōno: Driving Rain (Shōno hakuu), from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō (Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi no uchi), also known as the First Tōkaidō or Great Tōkaidō
c. 1833-36
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Omiya in Rain (Ame no Omiya)
Ame no Omiya
1930
Color woodblock print; oban
Evening Shower at Teradomari (Teradomari no yau), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"
Teradomari no yau
1921
Color woodblock print; oban
Frequently Asked Questions
“Act II, Scene 2: Along Train Tracks in America,” from the series The Strange Tale of the Castaways: A Western Kabuki was created by Adachi Ginkō (安達吟光) in 1879.
“Act II, Scene 2: Along Train Tracks in America,” from the series The Strange Tale of the Castaways: A Western Kabuki depicts rain.