Kabuki Actor Onoe Kikugorō I

Kabuki Actor Onoe Kikugorō I

Yamamoto Yoshinobu

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This print depicts a popular Kabuki actor who specialized in female roles. Ono'e Kikugoro, dressed as a female character, sits before an alcove that is hung with a painting of him in the role of a male character. Thus, Yoshinobu uses the compositional device of a picture-within-a-picture to show two guises of the same actor, which are seemingly contemplating each other.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Kabuki Actor Onoe Kikugorō IKabuki Actor Onoe Kikugorō IKabuki Actor Onoe Kikugorō IKabuki Actor Onoe Kikugorō IKabuki Actor Onoe Kikugorō I

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.