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七代目市川団十郎の文覚と五代目松本幸四郎の不動明王
The 12th-century monk Mongaku was famed for his almost superhuman austerities. He vowed to sit under the Nachi waterfall for twenty-one days during winter, reciting an invocation to the Buddhist deity Fudō Myōō. Unlike other kabuki surimono, this print does not commemorate an actual performance, but instead represents an imagined performance, placing these two stars—whose families were closely related—in roles together.
Actor Ichikawa Danjûrô VII as Mongaku praying in Nachi Waterfall and Matsumoto Kôshirô V as Fudô Myôô
七代目市川団十郎の文覚と五代目松本幸四郎の不動明王
Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786–1864)
Japanese
Edo period
about 1829–32 (Bunsei 12–Tenpô 3)
Medium/Technique
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Shikishiban, upright diptych; 39.2 x 17.6 cm (15 7/16 x 6 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
William Sturgis Bigelow Collection
Accession Number11.15063
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
The 12th-century monk Mongaku was famed for his almost superhuman austerities. He vowed to sit under the Nachi waterfall for twenty-one days during winter, reciting an invocation to the Buddhist deity Fudō Myōō. Unlike other kabuki surimono, this print does not commemorate an actual performance, but instead represents an imagined performance, placing these two stars—whose families were closely related—in roles together.
Catalogue Raisonné
Schaap, Kunisada (exh. cat., 2016), #132; Herwig, Heroes of the Kabuki Stage (2004), #37.4; Chiba Museum, Edo no surimono (1997), #278; Izzard, Kunisada's World (1993), #55; Ukiyo-e taikei 10 (1976), #139; TNM Ukiyo-e cat. 3 (1963), #2683
DescriptionMFA impressions: 11.15063, 11.19911
Poem translated in Izzard 1993, p. 122.
Poem translated in Izzard 1993, p. 122.
Signed
Ôko Kunisada ga
応好国貞画
応好国貞画
InscriptionsPoem by Umenoya: Katageyuku/ nawa makidaru no/ takisui ni/ nioi o amiru/ ume no oikaze
かたけゆく縄まき樽の滝水に匂ひをあみるうめの追風 梅廼屋
かたけゆく縄まき樽の滝水に匂ひをあみるうめの追風 梅廼屋
ProvenanceBy 1911, purchased by William Sturgis Bigelow (b. 1850 - d. 1926), Boston [see note 1]; 1911, gift of Bigelow to the MFA. (Accession Date: August 3, 1911)
NOTES:
[1] Much of Bigelow's collection of Asian art was formed during his residence in Japan between 1882 and 1889, although he also made acquisitions in Europe and the United States. Bigelow deposited many of these objects at the MFA in 1890 before donating them to the Museum's collection at later dates.
NOTES:
[1] Much of Bigelow's collection of Asian art was formed during his residence in Japan between 1882 and 1889, although he also made acquisitions in Europe and the United States. Bigelow deposited many of these objects at the MFA in 1890 before donating them to the Museum's collection at later dates.