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「もつきんの歌（うた）」 三代目尾上菊五郎の座頭徳市実ハ天竺徳兵衛 （死絵ヵ）
Song of the Xylophone (Mokkin no uta): Memorial Portrait (?) of Actor Onoe Kikugorô III as the Blind Musician (Zatô) Tokuichi, actually Tenjiku Tokubei
「もつきんの歌（うた）」 三代目尾上菊五郎の座頭徳市実ハ天竺徳兵衛 （死絵ヵ）
Japanese
Edo period
1849 (Kaei 2), 4th month
Medium/Technique
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Vertical ôban; 36.8 x 25.2 cm (14 1/2 x 9 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
William Sturgis Bigelow Collection
Accession Number11.36689
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
Catalogue Raisonné
Waseda db 005-1013, 100-9247; earlier version from 1816: Rijksmuseum, The Ear Catches the Eye (2001), #83
DescriptionAn earlier version of the design, with different blocks: 11.37809.16, 11.38325
Kuniyoshi may have recycled the design as a memorial print for the death of Kikugorô III, then using the name Ôkawa Hashizô I, in 1849.4 (Kikugorô III had officially retired from the stage in 1847.7, but he returned under the name Ôkawa Hashizô I in 1848.4 and continued to act until his death).
Kuniyoshi may have recycled the design as a memorial print for the death of Kikugorô III, then using the name Ôkawa Hashizô I, in 1849.4 (Kikugorô III had officially retired from the stage in 1847.7, but he returned under the name Ôkawa Hashizô I in 1848.4 and continued to act until his death).
Signed
Ichiyûsai Kuniyoshi ga
一勇斎国芳画
一勇斎国芳画
Marks
Censors' seals: Mera, Murata
No blockcutter's mark
改印：米良、村田
彫師：なし
No blockcutter's mark
改印：米良、村田
彫師：なし
ProvenanceBy 1911, purchased by William Sturgis Bigelow (b. 1850–d. 1926), Boston [see note 1]; 1911, gift of Bigelow to the MFA. (Accession Date: January 19, 2005)
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.