men (male humans); women; kimonos; trees; flowers (plants); mountains; gardens; Single Built Works; fusuma
Kato Shigeuji, the military governor / daimyo of Chikuzen Province in northern Kyushu, became disillusioned with the sensual world and sought spiritual refuge on Mt. Koya, a monastic center on the main island of Honshu. Although he abandoned his...
Akoya, an entertainer in Kyoto’s Kiyomizu zaka pleasure quarters, was mistress to the Heike warrior Taira Kagekiyo (died 1196), who was captured at the Battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185 but had escaped. The Genji commander ordered Hatakeyama Shigetada...
Meiji period color woodblock print from the series "Blossoming of Glorious Colors." Two courtesans sit with musical instruments in a room overlooking a water garden. A stone lantern sit under a pine outside the door; in the distance a bridge arcs...
The wife of Matsumura and the daughter of Hayakawa have joined a night attack on the Honjo mansion of Kira Yoshinaka, the climax of a vendetta when the followers of Asano Naganori sought revenge for the humiliation of Asano by Kira. Asano, Lord of...
women; men (male humans); kimonos; military uniforms; drums (membranophones); flutes (aerophones); biwa; swords; fans (costume accessories)
The emperor, empress and five court ladies at right observe a traditional shirabyoshi dancer. While the imperial couple sit in chairs at a table, their attendants kneel on the carpeted verandah. Also on the porch is an enormous flower arrangement...
A woman, in a flower-covered red robe, dances, surrounded by small flames. Princess Yaegaki found herself in as difficult a situation as Romeo and Juliet, with whom this story from the play Honcho Nijushiko, or Twenty-four Examples of Filial Piety,...
legends (folk tales); men (male humans); armor (protective wear); Buddhas
An armored samurai is wrestling a red demon and multitude of skeletons under the gaze of a grinning yellow Buddha. Toki Motosada has seized the demon by the wrist and is throwing it down. Moths flutter around them under a full moon.
Where...
men (male humans); women; swords; military uniforms; hats; costume
The theatrical traditions of kabuki were challenged by modernization, and new topics were introduced to the stage in the 1870's. Here Chikanobu provides advertisement for a play about the popular hero Saigo Takamori (1827-1877), who had just been...
A character in "The Tale of the Heike" and kabuki plays, Mongaku experienced a religious awakening at the age of 19, took vows and entered the life of a wandering ascetic. As an austerity, Mongaku prayed beneath the Nachi waterfalls, standing under...
Lord Nabeshima Naoshige (1538-1618), the military governor (daimyo) of Hizen Province, is being threatened by the Cat Monster of Saga, which is seeking revenge for the deaths of Ryuzoji Matahichiro and his mother. Killer cats have long been a...
Lord Nabeshima Naoshige (1538-1618), the military governor (daimyo) of Hizen Province, is being threatened by the Cat Monster of Saga, which is seeking revenge for the deaths of Ryuzoji Matahichiro and his mother. Killer cats have long been a...
This play, now commonly called "Gorozo the Gallant / Gosho no Gorozo," included in the first act the brutal murder of young Hototogisu, daughter of a tea ceremony master, by Yuri no kata, jealous wife of the daimyo Asama Tomoenojo, who had just...
legends (folk tales); robes (main garments); children (people by age group); boys; sandals
Back to back print. A man in a priest's robes and headdress cups the chin of a young boy standing beside him; a rosary dangles from his right wrist. The boy, dressed in traveling clothes, grasps the priest's wrist and lays his face in the man's...
battles; men (male humans); warriors; warships; bodies of water
Minamoto Yoshitsune's story is the subject of many stories and plays which treat him as an archetype of doomed valor. The brother of Minamoto Yoritomo, who founded the shogunate, Yoshitsune was placed in a monastery after his father's death in an...
Rakugo / "humorous storytelling" is shown in the circular scene, with the narrator seated on a stage before an audience of young and old. A wall poster suggests that this is the famous Enshi Danshuro (1838-1900) who was popular for his tales based...
Back to back print. The faithful maid Ohatsu stands before a torn umbrella wiping Iwafuji's blood from a sword with a sandal. Her plain checked kimono indicates her lowly status. A flowering cherry tree frames the image; its petals drift down over...
Single Built Works; gardens; bridges (built works); women; men (male humans); kimonos; hairstyles; hair ornaments; helmets; swords; halberds
Yaegaki-hime dances at center holding the sacred helmet known as the Suwa hossho or "Suwa's unchanging essence," given by the kami or deities of Lake Suwa in Nagano Prefecture to the Takeda clan. In the kabuki theater repertoire, this is considered...
The Hachiman Shrine at "Zither Strumming Hill" / Kotohikiyama gets its name from the Shinto god Hachiman of Usa, who reportedly appeared here in 703 to the sound of koto music. The hilltop shrine buildings overlook a beach famous for its many...
women; men (male humans); children (people by age group); boys; kimonos; actors; swords; bamboo
This appears to be a variation of "The Bamboo Room" scene from Act II of the play "The Precious Incense and Autumn Flowers of Sendai / Meiboku Sendai hagi." In the standard kabuki play version, the shogun's son Tsuruchiyo is friends with Senmatsu,...
This scene is from the 2nd act of the long play "The Precious Incense and Autumn Flowers of Sendai" / Meiboku Sendai hagi, first written in 1777 for the Osaka kabuki stage in and then greatly expanded in 1785 for the puppet theater, the reverse of...
