“Actor Ichikawa Danjūrō I as Soga no Gorō”
This vibrant hand-colored woodblock print on paper from circa 1697, titled “Actor Ichikawa Danjūrō I as Soga no Gorō”, is by the Japanese artist, Torii Kiyomasu. Kiyomasu was an Ukiyo-e artist from the Torii school of the Edo period. This piece remains one of the most famous works from this school of art.
This is an actor print of Ichikawa Danjūrō I in the role of Soga no Gorō. Ichikawa Danjūrō I was a kabuki actor from Japan who lived from 1660 to 1704. He was one of the most well-known and influential actors from that genre.
Along with Soga Jūrō, Soga Gorō is one of two main brothers from the Japanese epic tale, Soga Monogatari. It is a classic vendetta story. The father of Soga Gorō and Soga Jūrō is killed by Kudō Suketsune, a local shōgun, over land rights. The brothers, just infants when their father died, grow up and become skilled fighters to gain vengeance and retrieve their father’s sword from Kudō Suketsune. During the final fight, both Soga Jūrō and Kudō Suketsune are killed. After finally achieving their desired revenge, Soga Gorō is captured and executed for the death of the shōgun. In this piece, the character of Soga no Gorō is uprooting a bamboo tree in a show of strength.
The Torii school (鳥居派), was a form of Ukiyo-e painting and printing that emerged in Edo mainly after the arrival of Torii Kiyonobu in 1687. The Torii school worked with the kabuki theater to design and create signboards and other promotional materials, such as this actor print here. Ukiyo-e, which translates to “the floating world,” is the main style of woodblock printing in Japan. It is meant to show the impermanence and fleeting beauty of the world and all within it, such as landscapes, entertainment, etc.
“Actor Ichikawa Danjūrō I as Soga no Gorō” is currently in the collections of the Tokyo National Museum in Tokyo, Japan.
For more on Torii Kiyomasu, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
