Kabuki Theater is one of Asano's rare figure-oriented compositions, depicting the dramatic world of traditional Japanese stage performance. The subject matter sets it apart from his predominant temple and landscape prints, giving it added collector interest. Market prices hover between $250-$600, and examples with strong color registration are especially desirable.
The Kabuki Theater as an architectural subject allowed Asano to apply his characteristic atmospheric sensitivity to the built environment of traditional Japanese performing arts. The theater's exterior — its curved rooflines, lanterns, and banner-hung facade — is rendered with the warm, observational care he brought to temple and shrine subjects, situating performance culture within the same visual world as the sacred architecture that dominated his output. Asano's Kyoto upbringing gave him intimate familiarity with the theatrical culture of the old capital, where Kabuki's relationship to everyday life was more porous than in Tokyo.
1955
Woodblock print
1928
Color lithograph
1930
Color lithograph
1927 (Published)
Color woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Kabuki Theater (歌舞伎) was created by Takeji Asano (浅野竹二).
Kabuki Theater uses Bokashi, Nishiki-e, and Moku-hanga, on woodblock print.
Kabuki Theater was published by Unsodo.
Kabuki Theater depicts kabuki.
