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The Actor Osagawa Tsuneyo II as Osan the Older Sister of Ippei
The Actor Osagawa Tsuneyo II as Osan the Older Sister of Ippei

The Actor Osagawa Tsuneyo II as Osan the Older Sister of Ippei

Artist/Maker (Japanese, active 1794–1795)
Publisher
Date1794
MediumColor woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
DimensionsVertical ōban; overall: 14 3/8 × 9 7/8 in. (36.5 × 25.1 cm)
Credit LineMary A. Ainsworth Bequest
Object number1950.436
Status
Not on view
More Information
The actor Osagawa Tsuneyo II is depicted as a female character in the kabuki play Koi nyōbō somewake tazune (The Colored Reins of a Loving Wife), which was performed during the fifth month of 1794. Like much of Sharaku’s work, and unlike his contemporaries, the print presents the actor’s true facial features in an unidealized fashion. The background uses the mica printing, which gives the impression of the actor illuminated by stage lights.

Sharaku is the most enigmatic of all ukiyo-e print designers. His true name and life dates are unknown, and he produced prints for only a ten-month period. He was a prolific artist, producing over 160 designs that were quite popular. Why he stopped working is still a mystery.
Exhibition History
Forty-eight Japanese Prints from the Mary A. Ainsworth Collection
  • University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN ( 1954-02 - 1954-02 )
  • University of the South, Sewannee, TN ( 1954-03 - 1954-03 )
Summer Asia Institute Exhibition
  • Kresge Art Center, Michigan State University (June 24, 1959 - July 30, 1959 )
Japanese Prints from the Ainsworth Collection
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (September 18, 1979 - October 21, 1979 )
Japanese Prints from the Mary A. Ainsworth Collection
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (May 20, 1986 - July 20, 1986 )
Exhibition for Education Department, Lorain County Gifted and Talented Program: Acting
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (July 15, 1993 - July 20, 1993 )
Exhibition for Education Department Shansi Tour
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 11, 1994 - January 13, 1994 )
Exhibition for Lorain County Gifted and Talented and the Oberlin Interagency Youth Council Camps
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (July 14, 1994 - July 14, 1994 )
Exhibition for Lorain County Gifted and Talented Program
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (July 7, 1995 - July 13, 1995 )
Visions of Turmoil and Tranquility: Japanese Woodblock Prints from the Collection
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (September 17, 2005 - December 23, 2005 )
Ukiyo-e Prints from the Mary Ainsworth Collection
  • Chiba City Museum of Art, Chiba, Japan (April 13, 2019 - May 25, 2019 )
  • Shizuoka City Museum of Art, Shizuoka, Japan (June 8, 2019 - July 28, 2019 )
  • Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts, Osaka, Japan (August 10, 2019 - September 29, 2019 )
Ukiyo-e Prints from the Mary Ainsworth Collection
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 14, 2020 - December 6, 2020 )
Collections
  • Asian
This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator. Noticed a mistake? Have some extra information about this object? Please contact us.