The contents of this item, including all images and text, are for personal, educational, and non-commercial use only. The contents of this item may not be reproduced in any form without the express permission of Scripps College. Any form of image reproduction, transmission, display, or storage in any retrieval system is prohibited without the written consent of Scripps College and other copyright holders. Scripps College retains all rights, including copyright, in data, images, documentation, text and other information contained in these files. For permissions, please contact: Scripps College, Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery Attn: Rights and Reproductions, 1030 Columbia Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711
Description
The theatrical traditions of kabuki were challenged by modernization, and new topics were introduced to the stage in the 1870's. Here Chikanobu provides advertisement for a play about the popular hero Saigo Takamori (1827-1877), who had just been defeated in a rebellion of Satsuma samurai against the national government's conscription army. The names of the rebels are listed in the cartouches (next to the actors' names), but in slightly altered form to circumvent censorship laws about direct references to current events. Thus the great Ichikawa Danjuro IX (1839-1903) plays "Saijo" (Saigo) Takamori, Ichikawa Sadanji (1842-1904) is "Kishino" (Kirino) Toshiaki, Onoe Kikugoro V (1844-1903) is "Minohara" (Shinohara) Kunimoto (1836-1877), Nakamura Sojuro (1835-1889) is "Takenokami" (Ikegami) Shiro, and the famous actor Iwai Hanshiro VIII (1829-1882) is in the female role (onnagata) of Kishino's mistress. The play was performed in March 1878 at the Shintomi-za in Tokyo and entitled "The Morning East Wind Clearing the Clouds of the Southwest"/ Okige no Kumo Harau Asagochi, which alludes to the government forces sent from eastern Japan to suppress rebels in the southwest island of Kyushu. According to Brandon and Leiter, "The scenes of modern warfare, with exploding artillery shells (simulated by fireworks) and gunfire, were a great success" and were "an extremely important step toward contemporary realism." James R. Brandon and Samuel L. Leiter (ed.) Kabuki Plays on Stage, Volume 4: Restoration and Reform, 1872-1905 (Honolulu: University of Hawai'I Press, 2003), p. 19.
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
