Kado-za Theater at Dōton-bori, from One Hundred Views of Naniwa (Naniwa Hyakkei)
道頓堀角芝居(浪花百景)
- Date:
- 1860-1861
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print
- Source:
- Osaka Municipal Central Library
道頓堀角芝居(浪花百景)
This color woodblock print by Utagawa Kunikazu, dated 1860-1861 and preserved by the Osaka Municipal Central Library through Wikimedia Commons, depicts the Kado-za Theater (角芝居, also known as Kado-no-shibai) in the Dōton-bori (道頓堀) entertainment district of Osaka, as documented in the Naniwa hyakkei (One Hundred Views of Naniwa, 浪花百景) series. Dōton-bori, named after the canal completed by Yasui Dōton in 1615, was the great theater and entertainment district of Edo-period Osaka and the home of the city's principal kabuki venues. The Kado-za, one of the four officially licensed theaters that anchored the district, was a central venue for Osaka kabuki productions and the workplace of the actors whose portraits Kunikazu produced for his [yakusha-e](/glossary/yakusha-e) practice. The composition surveys the theater's exterior with its distinctive entrance signage, surrounding street activity, and the broader Dōton-bori canal-side context that gave the entertainment district its visual identity. The selection of the Kado-za for inclusion in the Naniwa hyakkei testifies to the project's attention to the popular culture and commercial entertainment of Osaka alongside its religious and topographical landmarks. The Naniwa hyakkei series, comprising approximately 102 prints designed collaboratively by Kunikazu together with Hasegawa Sadanobu II and Nansuitei Yoshiyuki, surveys Osaka in the chū-[tanzaku](/glossary/tanzaku) format. The print is executed in ink and color on paper with the restrained palette and lively figure work characteristic of mature kamigata-e urban genre scenes.
両本願寺
1860
Color woodblock print
大日本六十余州之内
c. 1862
Color woodblock print
生玉絵馬堂
1860
Color woodblock print
三頭
1860
Color woodblock print
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Kado-za Theater at Dōton-bori, from One Hundred Views of Naniwa (Naniwa Hyakkei) (道頓堀角芝居(浪花百景)) was created by Utagawa Kunikazu (歌川国員) in 1860-1861.
Kado-za Theater at Dōton-bori, from One Hundred Views of Naniwa (Naniwa Hyakkei) depicts landscapes.