four actors from the play, "The 4 Modern Guardians Kings Return from Mt.Oyama"

Utagawa Kunisada, artist

1786–1864

four actors from the play, "The 4 Modern Guardians Kings Return from Mt.Oyama", 1858, Edo period (1600–1868)

Where object was made: Japan

Material/technique: color woodcut

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): a: 374.7 x 247.7 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): b: 377.8 x 254 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 14 3/4 x 9 3/4 in
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 14 7/8 x 10 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 20 x 25 in

Credit line: Gift of H. Lee Turner

Accession number: 1968.0001.321.a,b

Not on display

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This print depicts four Kabuki actors from Japanese classical theater portraying firefighters in the play The Four Modern Guardian Kings Return from Mt. Oyama. In the fire-prone city of Edo (present-day Tokyo), firefighters often had their bodies tattooed for spiritual strength and protection. The man on the upper left has a back tattoo of Kintoki, a legendary hero with a red body, while the right arm of the man on the upper right features a dragon—a symbol closely related to water.