The Actor Arashi Koroku IV in the Final Farewell Performance of His Career (Shōgai onagori kyōgen) as the Female Bandit Hotei Oichi

The Actor Arashi Koroku IV in the Final Farewell Performance of His Career (Shōgai onagori kyōgen) as the Female Bandit Hotei Oichi

Shunkōsai Hokushū 春好斎北洲

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This print seems to have unintentionally turned out to be memorial portrait of Arashi Koroku IV (1783–1826), commemorating a farewell performance that never happened. The actor is shown here defiantly posed as the female bandit Hotei Oichi with the shakuhachi bamboo flute, pipe (kiseru), and cloth purse associated with such roles. The accompanying headnote and verse by the actor’s wife expresses how distraught she is by the unexpected passing of her husband.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Actor Arashi Koroku IV in the Final Farewell Performance of His Career (Shōgai onagori kyōgen) as the Female Bandit Hotei OichiThe Actor Arashi Koroku IV in the Final Farewell Performance of His Career (Shōgai onagori kyōgen) as the Female Bandit Hotei OichiThe Actor Arashi Koroku IV in the Final Farewell Performance of His Career (Shōgai onagori kyōgen) as the Female Bandit Hotei OichiThe Actor Arashi Koroku IV in the Final Farewell Performance of His Career (Shōgai onagori kyōgen) as the Female Bandit Hotei OichiThe Actor Arashi Koroku IV in the Final Farewell Performance of His Career (Shōgai onagori kyōgen) as the Female Bandit Hotei Oichi

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.