One Hundred Famous Places of Edo: New Year's Eve Foxfires at the Nettle Tree, Oji (detail), By Utagawa Hiroshige, Edo period, dated 1857
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 10
November 20, 2018 (Tue) - December 9, 2018 (Sun)
The story of the “Forty-seven Ronin” became well known in the Edo period through the Kabuki play The Treasury of Loyal Retainers, which was customarily performed at the end of the year. It is said that performances of this play were always successful, and even today it is often performed in late December. The current exhibition features a series of prints based on the 11 acts of the play by the artist Katsukawa Shun'ei, as well as works by other artists based on new interpretations of this classic theme. The exhibition also includes works from the series One Hundred Famous Places of Edo that draw on the theme of winter and depict scenes from the end of the year.
Current exhibit includes:
The Actor Kataoka Nizaemon VII as Ko no Moronao, By Katsukawa Shun'ei, Edo period, dated 1795
The Actor Nakamura Noshio II as Tonase, By Katsukawa Shun'ei, Edo period, dated 1795 (Important Art Object)
The Actor Sawamura Sojuro III as Oboshi Yuranosuke, By Utagawa Toyokuni, Edo period, dated 1796
One Hundred Famous Places of Edo: New Year's Eve Foxfires at the Nettle Tree, Oji, By Utagawa Hiroshige, Edo period, dated 1857