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The Third Segawa Kikunojo as a Woman in a Crouching Position

Creator Name

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Katsukawa Shunshō

Cultural Context

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Japanese

Date

1778

About the work

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This woodblock print depicts the famed onnagata Kabuki actor known as 三代目瀬川 菊之丞 [SEGAWA Kikunojo III] (1751~1810) in a low crouching position with an erect sword, ready to strike. Onnagata were male actors who typically played female roles. The upper half of the composition is imbued with a dark black layer that evokes the night sky. Expressive black strokes transform from unkempt at the top to an intricate, criss-cross design towards the lower two thirds to comprise a sloping diagonal. Behind the central figure, an unruly stream adds to the agitated mood. The presence of the water and vegetation position the figure in an exterior, and yet the hair and kimono are billowing and extravagant in a slightly antiquated fashion that points to the 十二単 [jūnihitoe] style of the Heian Period (794-1185). Such a garment wouldn’t have been very appropriate outside of a palace. The two-layered hairstyle is Heian, too, with a long extension that hangs past the wearer’s knees and a shorter layer framing their face. However, the crown of the head is covered with a headwrap, implying that the actor is duly shaven as required for men during the Edo. This juxtaposition of historical periods―Heian and Edo―is synthesized in the image of the feminine-presenting figure in a combative position. The image creates a point of connection between two moments in Japanese history which pushed the envelope of conventional gender roles through artistic explorations of sensuality, eroticism, and pathos.
Metropolitan Museum of Art Object Description
Woodblock print (nishiki-e)

Work details

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Title

The Third Segawa Kikunojo as a Woman in a Crouching Position

Creator

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Katsukawa Shunshō, Printmaker
Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章, Japanese, 1726–1792, Artist

Worktype

Prints

Cultural Context

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Japanese
Japan

Material

One sheet of a triptych of woodblock prints (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper

Dimensions

12 9/16 x 5 7/8 in. (31.9 x 14.9 cm);
height: 31.9centimetre;
width: 14.9centimetre

Technique

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Woodblock printing

Language

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Japanese

Date

1778

Provenance

Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1918

Style Period

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Ukiyo-e
Edo period (1615–1868)

Rights

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Public Domain
Public Domain

Inscription

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Signature: Shunsho ga

Location

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Japan

Subjects

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Japanese people; Hairstyle; Nihongami; Entertainer; Katana; Kimono; Theatre; Kabuki; Man; Woman; Actor; Night
Swords; Actors

Topic

--

Curationist Metadata Contributors

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Jessica Gengler; aliwen

All Works in Curationist’s archives can be reproduced and used freely. How to attribute this Work:

Katsukawa Shunshō, The Third Segawa Kikunojo as a Woman in a Crouching Position, 1778. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Katsukawa Shunshō is credited with creating this style of actor portraits known as yakusha-e. Public Domain.

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