Actor Iwai Hanshirô IV Performs the Triple Umbrella Dance in “Flower of Japan: Ono no Komachi’s Five Characters” (“Kuni no Hana Ono no Itsumoji”)
- Date:
- About 1771
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print; hosoban
- Source:
Katsukawa Shunsho documents the celebrated onnagata Iwai Hanshiro IV mid-performance in the 'Triple Umbrella Dance' from 'Kuni no Hana Ono no Itsumoji' (Flower of Japan: Ono no Komachi's Five Characters), an evocative production that invoked the Heian poet Ono no Komachi as its literary axis. Iwai Hanshiro IV was among the foremost onnagata of his generation, prized for the elegance of his dance and for his command of classical female roles, and dance set pieces like the Triple Umbrella sequence were prime opportunities for him to display virtuosity. Shunsho's design captures the actor in motion, with the three umbrellas serving as both stage prop and choreographic device, multiplying the actor's silhouette and giving the composition its dynamic asymmetry. The work is a strong example of Edo ukiyo-e yakusha-e at the moment when the Katsukawa school's commitment to individualized likeness was extending into the more demanding territory of recording dance, where the print had to convey not just a face and a costume but a particular body in motion. The print also reflects the cultural prestige attached to dance kyoki within Edo kabuki, where leading onnagata used choreography to assert artistic authority within the male-dominated ensemble. Held in the Art Institute of Chicago, this design supplements the rich body of Shunsho yakusha-e there and underscores how Katsukawa school designers used the printed page to perpetuate the live, ephemeral artistry of Edo kabuki dance.
c. 1772
Color woodblock print; aiban
c. early 1780s
color woodblock print
c. 1768
Color woodblock print; hosoban
Actor Iwai Hanshirô IV Performs the Triple Umbrella Dance in “Flower of Japan: Ono no Komachi’s Five Characters” (“Kuni no Hana Ono no Itsumoji”) was created by Katsukawa Shunshō (勝川春章) in About 1771.
Actor Iwai Hanshirô IV Performs the Triple Umbrella Dance in “Flower of Japan: Ono no Komachi’s Five Characters” (“Kuni no Hana Ono no Itsumoji”) depicts birds & flowers and sumo.
