Ichikawa Ebizō IV as Takemura Sadanojō in the Play Koinyōbō Somewake Tazuna

Ichikawa Ebizō IV as Takemura Sadanojō in the Play Koinyōbō Somewake Tazuna

Tōshūsai Sharaku

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In this portrait, one of Sharaku's most famous works, Ebizō Is acting the part of a samurai warrior of tremendous integrity at a moment of insufferable moral conflict. Indeed, in the succeeding moment he will commit seppuku, or suicide by disembowelment, to preserve his honor. Ebizō's realization of his inescapable fate is apparent in his hands, which are clenched with enormous tension, while his eyes seem to peer out of a face devastated by the pain of his fatal dilemma. Sharaku has arranged the drapery folds to amplify the anguish expressed by the hands and orchestrate the transition between the two focal points of the composition—the hands and eyes. In the late eighteenth century, this actor was the fourth holder of the name "Ichikawa Danjūrō," the most prestigious position in the world of Kabuki. Since he preferred his personal name, "Ebizō" was inscribed by brush on the upper right corner of this portrait, the only such inscription among extant impressions of this print.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ichikawa Ebizō IV as Takemura Sadanojō in the Play Koinyōbō Somewake TazunaIchikawa Ebizō IV as Takemura Sadanojō in the Play Koinyōbō Somewake TazunaIchikawa Ebizō IV as Takemura Sadanojō in the Play Koinyōbō Somewake TazunaIchikawa Ebizō IV as Takemura Sadanojō in the Play Koinyōbō Somewake TazunaIchikawa Ebizō IV as Takemura Sadanojō in the Play Koinyōbō Somewake Tazuna

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.