Ichikawa Danjūrō VII Preparing New Year's Gifts

Ichikawa Danjūrō VII Preparing New Year's Gifts

Utagawa Kunisada

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjūrō VII (1791–1859) is shown at home in everyday dress, preparing New Year’s gifts for his admirers. The gifts are cotton hand towels (tenugui) that have been folded into miniature workmen’s coats, each decorated with the three concentric squares (mimasu) of his family crest and the words Ichikawa and Kiba (a reference to the actor’s home in Fukagawa). It is likely that this surimono was designed while Danjūrō was performing in Osaka in 1830.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ichikawa Danjūrō VII Preparing New Year's GiftsIchikawa Danjūrō VII Preparing New Year's GiftsIchikawa Danjūrō VII Preparing New Year's GiftsIchikawa Danjūrō VII Preparing New Year's GiftsIchikawa Danjūrō VII Preparing New Year's Gifts

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.