Actor Ichikawa Ebizō as Arajirō Yoshizumi, in the play Shibaraku, Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Exhibition Label: “The Substance of Color,” Mar-2013, Mary Dusenbury
In the Edo period (1600-1868), sumptuary laws attempted to prohibit commoners from wearing luxurious clothing. To regulate color, government authorities restricted the use of dyes that produced vibrant colors such as safflower (pink to scarlet) and gromwell (purples). At times, people were imprisoned for wearing forbidden colors. Wealthy urbanites responded by fully exploiting the potential of dye materials that were allowed-indigo blue and a range of browns and greys. Kabuki actors were trend setters, striking the first pose on stage in attire that featured a new shade or tone of brown, blue, grey or black and setting off a rush on the dyehouse that had developed the color.

The actors in these prints are stylish and their costumes dramatic, but the effect is achieved solely with indigo and a range of browns, greys, and blacks.

Archive Label 2003:
Several generations of male members of the lchikawa Danjuro family of actors played a variety of roles, from women to rough heroes. They were most famous for the role of a tough hero who comes to the aid of victims about to be killed shouting, “Wait a moment!” The play was the foundation of the fame of the first Ichikawa Danjuro, and became a permanent part of the repertoire for all who took the name.

Though actors are often identified by name in wood block prints, there are often marks, usually incorporated into the design of their clothing, that also reveal their identity. In this print, Kuniyoshi uses the Ichikawa family crest of three nested squares. The white lines on the large fields of red leave no doubt as to the tradition to which the actor belongs.