The Actors Arashi Kitsusaburō II as the Hairdresser Kamiyui Tasuke, and Arashi Koroku IV as Gonza the Lancer (Yari no Gonza)

The Actors Arashi Kitsusaburō II as the Hairdresser Kamiyui Tasuke, and Arashi Koroku IV as Gonza the Lancer (Yari no Gonza)

Gigadō Ashiyuki 戯画堂芦幸

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The popular Kabuki role of Yari no Gonza (who is depicted on the left, beneath the red lantern with the actors’ names and roles) is based on a character of the same name from a puppet play written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon in 1717, over a century before the performance represented here. Chikamatsu’s play recounted the real-life events of the day of the killing of a pair of adulterous lovers by the woman’s jealous husband. The Kabuki adaptation, Rumors of a Scandal on the Fushimi Road (Fushimi-kaidō uwasa no akatsuki), which inspired this print, was performed at the Naka Theater in the eighth month of 1824.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Actors Arashi Kitsusaburō II as the Hairdresser Kamiyui Tasuke, and Arashi Koroku IV as Gonza the Lancer (Yari no Gonza)The Actors Arashi Kitsusaburō II as the Hairdresser Kamiyui Tasuke, and Arashi Koroku IV as Gonza the Lancer (Yari no Gonza)The Actors Arashi Kitsusaburō II as the Hairdresser Kamiyui Tasuke, and Arashi Koroku IV as Gonza the Lancer (Yari no Gonza)The Actors Arashi Kitsusaburō II as the Hairdresser Kamiyui Tasuke, and Arashi Koroku IV as Gonza the Lancer (Yari no Gonza)The Actors Arashi Kitsusaburō II as the Hairdresser Kamiyui Tasuke, and Arashi Koroku IV as Gonza the Lancer (Yari no Gonza)

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.