• Ichikawa Danjūrō X or XI (?) as Narukami Shōnin [鳴神上人]
Ichikawa Danjūrō X or XI (?) as Narukami Shōnin [鳴神上人]
Ichikawa Danjūrō X or XI (?) as Narukami Shōnin [鳴神上人]

Ōta Masamitsu (太田雅光) (artist 1892 – 1975)

Ichikawa Danjūrō X or XI (?) as Narukami Shōnin [鳴神上人]

Print


ca 1950
7.09 in x 7.95 in (Overall dimensions) Japanese color woodblock print
Signed: Gakō (雅光)
Artist's seal in red
British Museum - 1851 Kuniyoshi print of Narukami
Metropolitan Museum of Art - a 1796 Shun'ei print of Narukami
Victoria and Albert Museum - Toyokuni III print
Hankyu Cultural Foundation - 1812 Kunisada print
The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria This character in this print had been incorrectly ascribed to the role of Fudō Myōō. We have changed it to Narukami Shōnin, who is often portrayed with flames on his robes. We have added several links above to examples at the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Hankyu Cultural Foundation.

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Charo D'Etcheverry wrote on page 22 of 'Seducing the Mind: (Edo) Kabuki and the Ludic Performance' that it was Danjūrō I who created the role of Narukami for the kabuki stage. She added that during the Genroku era there were three plays centered on Narukami and Danjūrō I wrote two of them. The most famous play about the priest was Narukami Fudō Kitayamazakura (Narukami, Fudō, and Cherry Blossom at Kitayama from 1742).

"This story, which comes to kabuki from Noh, setsuwa and, ultimately, Indian legend, depicts a court beauty named Taema employing both her wit and her physical charms to engage, disarm, and ultimately seduce the priest. More precisely, Taema pretends to be a widow, convinces Narukami that she seeks the tonsure, and then tricks him into physical contact. Every part of her story is an act. " (pages 25-26)
actor prints (yakusha-e - 役者絵) (genre)
modern prints (shin hanga - 新版画) (genre)
Shōwa era (昭和時代) (genre)
Fudō Myōō (不動明王) (role)