Ichikawa Danjūrō V as a Skeleton, Spirit of the Renegade Monk Seigen, and Iwai Hanshirō IV as the Cherry Princess, in “Flower of Edo: An Ichikawa Saga” (Edo no Hana Mimasu Soga)
c.1783
Medium
Color woodblock print; hosoban diptych
Dimensions
Right: 32.9 × 15 cm (12 15/16 × 5 7/8 in.); Left: 32.9 × 15.2 cm (12 15/16 × 6 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
88304
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
As told on stage in the play Edo no Hana Mimasu Soga (Flower of Edo: An Ichikawa Saga), the tragic love affair of the monk Seigen and the Cherry Princess Sakura-hime ends with him being driven from his temple for breaking his vows of celibacy. He later dies alone and impoverished and then haunts the princess; in this print, his ghost is shown as a skeleton drawing close to a cowering woman. When this scene was performed, the actor playing the ghost wore a black costume with bones painted on it. ...