Ichikawa Danjūrō II in the Role of Soga Gorō from the Play "Yanone"

Torii Kiyonaga

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Torii school dominated the production of prints of Kabuki actors in the eighteenth century. The fourth grandmaster of the Torii school, Kiyonaga, copied this image from a print by Torii Kiyonobu II (1706–1763). The poem at the top of the print was inscribed by Danjūrō V, a contemporary of Kiyonaga. As shown here, Danjūrō II (1688–1758) performs the role of Soga Gorō, a portrayal that made him a superstar as a swaggering aragoto actor. The print captures the dramatic moment when Soga Gorō, sharpening an arrow, has a vision of the danger that threatens his elder brother.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art