Iwai Hanshirō IV as a Woman with a Sword

Description

In this unidentified role, Iwai Hanshirō IV is costumed as a woman with long flowing hair, wielding a sword. Men of the Edo period shaved their head from the forehead back to the crown, leaving the side and back hair long, though tied in an updo. Even after the practice was abandoned for Kabuki theater actors specializing in female roles, they kept the custom of concealing the area that would once have been bare, so Hanshirō has a murasaki no bōshi (紫の帽子), or purple headband, attached to his wig.

Provenance

William S. Spaulding [1865–1937] and John T. Spaulding [1870–1948], Boston, MA (?–1921); (American Art Association, November 18, 1921 sale, lot 638); (Yamanaka & Co., sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (1921); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1921–)

Iwai Hanshirō IV as a Woman with a Sword

Katsukawa Shunei

1791

Accession Number

1921.1287

Medium

color woodblock print

Dimensions

Sheet: 31.5 x 14 cm (12 3/8 x 5 1/2 in.)

Classification

Print

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Gift from J. H. Wade