Scene from the Drama "Lyric Dance of Shizuka Gozen (Taihei Shizuka Horaku no mai)"
- Date:
- c. 1711
- Medium:
- Hand-colored woodblock print; horizontal o-oban, tan-e
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Description
Dated to circa 1711 and formatted as a horizontal o-oban tan-e, this print depicts a scene from the kabuki drama 'Lyric Dance of Shizuka Gozen' (Taihei Shizuka Horaku no mai). Shizuka Gozen was the famous shirabyoshi dancer and consort of the twelfth-century warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune, and her story was retold repeatedly on the kabuki stage in dance-centered productions. Kiyomasu I's print is a wide-format tableau showing multiple figures in performance, with hand-applied tan pigment filling the costumes and architectural elements. The horizontal o-oban format was favored for theatrical group scenes that required showing several actors and stage furniture in their proper relationship, and it placed special demands on the designer to coordinate composition across an unusually broad sheet. The Art Institute of Chicago holds this print.
More Prints by Torii Kiyomasu I
The Actors Arashi Koroku I as Makomo no Mae and Ichikawa Uzaemon VIII as Taira no Koremochi in the play "Shusse Momijigari," performed at the Ichimura Theater in the eleventh month, 1747
1747
Color woodblock print; hosoban, benizuri-e
The Actors Sanogawa Ichimatsu I as Soga no Goro and Ikushima Daikichi II as Kewaizaka no Shosho in the play "Monzukushi Nagoya Soga," performed at the Ichimura Theater in the first month, 1748
1748
Color woodblock print; hosoban, benizuri-e
Ichimura Manzo as Yatsushi Goro and Segawa Kikujiro as Yatsushi Shosho
ca. 1745
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Courtesan
ca. 1712
Monochrome woodblock (tan-e) print; ink on paper
Frequently Asked Questions
Scene from the Drama "Lyric Dance of Shizuka Gozen (Taihei Shizuka Horaku no mai)" was created by Torii Kiyomasu I (鳥居清倍) in c. 1711.