Bandō Mitsugorō III as Daihanji Kiyozumi and Arashi Koroku IV as Koganosuke

Bandō Mitsugorō III as Daihanji Kiyozumi and Arashi Koroku IV as Koganosuke

Shunkōsai Hokushū 春好斎北洲

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Kabuki play Mount Imo and Mount Se: An Exemplary Tale of Womanly Virtue (Imoseyama onna teikin), originally based on a puppet play, is set in ancient Japan when the Soga clan served as regents to the emperor. Two children, Hinadori and Koganosuke, of rival court families, are held hostage under orders from the tyrant Soga no Iruka to ensure their families do not revolt. The children fall in love, but rather than create conflicts for their families they each vow to die by suicide. When the parents learn of their plans, they resolve to cooperate to overthrow Iruka. Here Koganosuke and his father Kiyozumi are shown; a companion sheet on the left would have shown Hinadori and her mother Sadaka.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bandō Mitsugorō III as Daihanji Kiyozumi and Arashi Koroku IV as KoganosukeBandō Mitsugorō III as Daihanji Kiyozumi and Arashi Koroku IV as KoganosukeBandō Mitsugorō III as Daihanji Kiyozumi and Arashi Koroku IV as KoganosukeBandō Mitsugorō III as Daihanji Kiyozumi and Arashi Koroku IV as KoganosukeBandō Mitsugorō III as Daihanji Kiyozumi and Arashi Koroku IV as Koganosuke

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.