![An image of Danjûrô VII as a medicine seller in front of a cartouche of Danjûrô IV as Kagekiyo. Kunisada, Utagawa (Japanese, 1786-1865). Surimono. Colour print from woodblocks with metallic pigment. Shikishiban. Signed: Gototei Kunisada ga, with artist’s sada seal in the shape of mimasu (triple rice measure). Producer’s seal: Shunman. Poet: Dokurakudô Takamori. c.1818-1820. Ukiyo-e. Notes: This surimono is sealed beneath Kunisada’s signature with the artist’s sada seal in the form of the mimasu (triple-rice-measure) box: this was the Ichikawa lineage acting crest (mon) which is also seen on Danjûrô IV’s sword. The print also bears the production seal of Kubo Shumman (1757-1820), indicating that Kunisada’s design was cut and printed by the Shumman studio. It was commissioned by the Go poetry group, whose stylised symbol made up of the character for ‘five’ (go) is used as the pattern on the upper part of Danjûrô IV’s outer robe. The surimono may have been intended as a memorial to Danjûrô IV, and celebrates roles that were specialities of the Ichikawa lineage of actors. Danjûrô IV holds in a bag the precious biwa (lute) called Seizan, which Kagekiyo is hiding from his Genji enemies. Danjûrô VII holds a medicine packet bearing the character uira[u], referring to the medicine uirô, which was supposed to cure everything from constipation to bad breath. The larger black case on his back has the characters for [O]dawara, the place where the medicine was produced. Uirô sellers were famous for their high-pitched voices and rapid sales-talk. Danjûrô VII wears the costume associated with this role: decorated with lucky coins and with a lining motif of sacred shimenawa ropes and dangling paper streamers. The poem on the surimono weaves into a standard New Year kyôka an allusion to the famed verbal gymnastics of the uirô seller, which in the play were supposedly due to the piece of uirô that he had put into his mouth: ‘With the scent of plum blossom](https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/603/381/large_P_493_1937_mas.jpg)
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Danjûrô VII as a medicine seller in front of a cartouche of Danjûrô IV as Kagekiyo. Kunisada, Utagawa (Japanese, 1786-1865). Surimono. Colour print from woodblocks with metallic pigment. Shikishiban. Signed: Gototei Kunisada ga, with artist’s sada seal in the shape of mimasu (triple rice measure). Producer’s seal: Shunman. Poet: Dokurakudô Takamori. c.1818-1820. Ukiyo-e. Notes: This surimono is sealed beneath Kunisada’s signature with the artist’s sada seal in the form of the mimasu (triple-rice-measure) box: this was the Ichikawa lineage acting crest (mon) which is also seen on Danjûrô IV’s sword. The print also bears the production seal of Kubo Shumman (1757-1820), indicating that Kunisada’s design was cut and printed by the Shumman studio. It was commissioned by the Go poetry group, whose stylised symbol made up of the character for ‘five’ (go) is used as the pattern on the upper part of Danjûrô IV’s outer robe. The surimono may have been intended as a memorial to Danjûrô IV, and celebrates roles that were specialities of the Ichikawa lineage of actors. Danjûrô IV holds in a bag the precious biwa (lute) called Seizan, which Kagekiyo is hiding from his Genji enemies. Danjûrô VII holds a medicine packet bearing the character uira[u], referring to the medicine uirô, which was supposed to cure everything from constipation to bad breath. The larger black case on his back has the characters for [O]dawara, the place where the medicine was produced. Uirô sellers were famous for their high-pitched voices and rapid sales-talk. Danjûrô VII wears the costume associated with this role: decorated with lucky coins and with a lining motif of sacred shimenawa ropes and dangling paper streamers. The poem on the surimono weaves into a standard New Year kyôka an allusion to the famed verbal gymnastics of the uirô seller, which in the play were supposedly due to the piece of uirô that he had put into his mouth: ‘With the scent of plum blossom
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The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024)
"Danjuro VII as a medicine seller, by Utagawa Kunisada"
Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/image/media-1019136939 Accessed: 2024-04-19 12:37:51
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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/image/media-1019136939
|title=Danjuro VII as a medicine seller, by Utagawa Kunisada
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-04-19 12:37:51|publisher=The
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alt="Danjûrô VII as a medicine seller in front of a cartouche of Danjûrô IV as Kagekiyo"
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<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Danjuro VII as a medicine seller, by Utagawa Kunisada</figcaption>
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