Description
This is probably a portrait of the actor who played the courtesan Nishikigi in the play A Group of Sumo Wresters of the Izu Peninsula, which was performed at the Nakamura theater in December 1747. Since women were prohibited from acting onstage, female roles were taken by men called onnagata. The actor Segawa Kikunojo I was one of the most famous onnagata of the time. His crest (mon) appears on his sleeve.
Provenance
Yamanaka & Company; sold to Clarence Buckingham (1854–1913), Chicago, Jan. 1908; by descent to his sister, Kate Sturges Buckingham (1858–1937), Chicago, 1913; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1925.
Accession Number
21451
Medium
Hand-colored woodblock print; vertical oban diptych, beni-e
Dimensions
69.6 × 25.2 cm (27 1/2 × 10 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Credit Line
Clarence Buckingham Collection
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