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Actor Nakamura Utaemon III, farewell performance at the Nakamura Theatre in Edo
Artist
Kunisada Utagawa
(Japanese, 1786-1864)
Date1815
Mediumwoodblock print
Dimensionsmat: 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm)
sheet: 14 7/8 × 10 1/4 in. (37.8 × 26 cm)
image: 14 3/8 × 10 1/4 in. (36.5 × 26 cm)
sheet: 14 7/8 × 10 1/4 in. (37.8 × 26 cm)
image: 14 3/8 × 10 1/4 in. (36.5 × 26 cm)
Credit LineGift of Miss Fillette Many
Exhibition History"Impressions: Printmaking in Japan," Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Joy Light Gallery of Asian Art (Apr. 1 - July 23, 2017).
"Sugoi! 200 Years of Japanese Art," KIA, Galleries 2 & 5 (May 13, 2023 - September 24, 2023)Label TextThis is the center panel of a triptych advertising the farewell performances played by the actor Nakamura Utaemon III. The Osaka-Kyoto area actor bows to the audience after three years at the Nakamura-za Theater in Edo. The text recounts his parting speech, in which he explains how much he regrets leaving. One reason for going home, he says, is because his elderly mother is unwell. Behind him, and on flanking panels, the actor is pictured in nine different roles. In keeping with the traditional focus of the Utagawa school, more than half of Kunisada’s print designs consisted of kabuki actors in current, popular plays.
