Ichikawa Kadanji IV as the ghost of Sakura Sogoro
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Art of Japan
Description
Ichikawa Kadanji IV plays the vengeful ghost of Sakura Sogoro — the martyred village headman who sacrificed himself to present a petition to the shogun on behalf of his starving village and was executed along with his family. Sogoro's ghost became one of kabuki's most powerful supernatural presences, a figure of righteous indignation haunting the officials who condemned him. Kuniyoshi renders the ghost in the visual idiom of yurei apparitions — pale, disheveled, surrounded by cherry-blossom snow — with Kadanji's features recognizable beneath the supernatural markings.
More Prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Woman as the Hero Taisō in Palanquin Holding a Pipe
c. 1830
Woodblock print (surimono), ink and color on paper
Yan Qing (Roshi Ensei), from the series "One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Water Margin (Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)"
Poem by Abe no Nakamaro, from an untitled series of One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets
Hu Sanniang (Ko Sanjo Ichijosei), from the series "One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Water Margin (Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)"
More Cherry Blossoms Prints
Kumoi Cherry Trees (Kumoi sakura)
Kumoi sakura
1926
Color woodblock print
Hirosaki Castle, from the series "Eight Views of Cherry Blossoms"
1935
Color woodblock print
Chion-in Temple Gate (Romon), from the series Eight Scenes of Cherry Blossoms (Sakura hachidai)
Romon
1935
Color woodblock print
Cherry Blossoms at Maruyama Park
円山公園桜
Woodblock print
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ichikawa Kadanji IV as the ghost of Sakura Sogoro was created by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳).
Ichikawa Kadanji IV as the ghost of Sakura Sogoro depicts cherry blossoms, kabuki, and mythology.