The Actor Segawa Kikunojo I as a courtesan

Description

This is probably a portrait of the actor who played the courtesan Nishikigi in the play A Group of Sumo Wresters of the Izu Peninsula, which was performed at the Nakamura theater in December 1747. Since women were prohibited from acting onstage, female roles were taken by men called onnagata. The actor Segawa Kikunojo I was one of the most famous onnagata of the time. His crest (mon) appears on his sleeve.

Provenance

Yamanaka & Company; sold to Clarence Buckingham (1854–1913), Chicago, Jan. 1908; by descent to his sister, Kate Sturges Buckingham (1858–1937), Chicago, 1913; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1925.

The Actor Segawa Kikunojo I as a courtesan

Ishikawa Toyonobu

c. 1747

Accession Number

21451

Medium

Hand-colored woodblock print; vertical oban diptych, beni-e

Dimensions

69.6 × 25.2 cm (27 1/2 × 10 in.)

Classification

woodblock print

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Clarence Buckingham Collection