1
_ID%20%3D%20%224365%22
Print
Theatrical Scene from the Play Twin Butterflies
Utagawa Kunisada I, 1786 - 1864
Utagawa Kunisada I
Japan
1786 - 1864
Male
14 5/16 x 19 11/16 in. (36.4 x 50 cm)
.
.
.
sheet
Printer's ink
Printer's ink
ca. 1857
1852
1862
Japanese, Ukiyo-e
Print
This print depicts the "Ukamuse Scene" that opens one version of the kabuki play <em>Twin Butterflies: A Diary of the Entertainment Quarter</em>. Famous for its high view of the city, the Ukamuse, its name spelled out here on the lanterns overhead, was a popular restaurant in the Shitennôji section of Osaka. In this scene, the elegant youth Yamazaki Yogorô (Yobei), played by the actor Nakamura Tomijûrô, is being lavishly entertained by the gorgeously-dressed courtesan Azuma of the Fujiya. Two other women look on as Azuma, accompanied by two female musicians, dances for him; another woman pours his sake from a warming kettle. The composition of this work is especially arresting: the long diagonal serves both to provide a sense of perspective within the room and divide the indoor space from the cityscape far below.
Written by the playwrights Takeda Izumo, Miyoshi Shôraku and Namiki Sôsuke, <em>Twin Butterflies: A Diary of the Entertainment Quarter</em> was first performed at Osaka's Takemoto-za Theater in 1749.
in the imageverso
1997.50
item
Memorial Art Gallery
6/22/2000
97.50DI1
digital image
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/97.50_A3.jpg
97.50SL1
slide
2 x 2
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
97.50_A1.jpg
digital image
Detail
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/97.50_A1.jpg
97.50_A2.jpg
digital image
Detail
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/97.50_A2.jpg