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The Actor Onoe Matsusuke I as the Ghost of Kohada Koheiji and His Sleeping Wife

The Actor Onoe Matsusuke I as the Ghost of Kohada Koheiji and His Sleeping Wife

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Utagawa Toyokuni

Kohada Koheiji was murdered by his wife and lover. Rumors about the actual events grew and in 1803 the writer Santo Kyoden developed the story into a novel, Bizarre Tale of Revenge at Asaka Marsh, which told of Koheiji’s murder by drowning and his subsequent revenge on his wife. The novel was adapted for the kabuki stage with a play written specifically for the actor Onoe Matsusuke I. The play debuted in 1808 with Matsusuke playing both the title role of Kohada Koheiji and the role of his wife. Toyokini depicts the ghost of Koheiji as he returns to avenge his murder by haunting the couple as they sleep together in bed inside mosquito netting. The faces of both the husband and wife are that of the actor Matsusuke.
Artist
Utagawa Toyokuni
(Japanese, 1769 - 1825)
Title
The Actor Onoe Matsusuke I as the Ghost of Kohada Koheiji and His Sleeping Wife
Date
1808
Medium
Color woodcut
Dimensions
377 x 249 mm Overall
Credit
Bequest of John H. Van Vleck
Accession No.
1980.3190
Classification
Prints
Geography
Japan

Related

By 1925, purchased in Japan by Frank Lloyd Wright; ca. 1926, acquired by The Bank of Wisconsin; 1928, sold to Edward Burr Van Vleck (Madison, WI); 1943, passed through inheritance to Edward’s son, John H. Van Vleck (Madison, WI); 9 January 1980, bequeathed by John H. Van Vleck to the Elvehjem Museum of Art [now called Chazen Museum of Art]

  • Mueller, Laura. "Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School." Leiden, The Netherlands: Hotei Publishing, 2007. p. 98, no. 61

  • Japanese Masterworks: Woodblock Prints from the Chazen Museum of Art Collection: Chazen Museum of Art, 5/6/2016–8/14/2016
  • Utagawa: Masters of the Japanese Print, 1770-1900 : Chazen Museum of Art, 3/21/2008–6/15/2008
  • Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School: Chazen Museum of Art, 11/3/2007–1/6/2008
  • Kabuki: The Drama of Japanese Prints: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 4/19/2003–6/22/2003

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