Posted by Dan (24.58.4.235) on February 02, 2006 at 04:35:32:
In Reply to: Kabuki episode search ... posted by Dave Bull on February 01, 2006 at 10:12:52:
Dear David,
These prints both depict scenes from the "Kabuki Juhachiban" or 18 great plays of the Ichikawa family. Although they are in the quintessential Torii style that solidified in the 18th century, I believe they were probably made in the mid-late 19th or even early 20th century (the Torii line extended into the 20th century, and was very conservative in approach).
This dating is suggested in part by a certain tightness in the line quality, but also by the fact that the Kabuki Juhachiban did not come together as a group until 1832. (They could be separate, earlier depictions of two individual plays themselves, but this would be a great coincidence to find them together this way--and again, the line qualities suggest a later date.)
Anyway, the scene with the bell is from "Gedatsu". Danjuro on the bell is playing the ghost of the 12th century hero Kagekiyo. The action of this play is loosely based on the noh play "Dojoji" (a haunted bell that won't ring), but the setting for this play is the aftermath of the Gempei wars.
The scene with the sickle is from "Kamahige" and again has Danjuro as Kagekiyo. Here, Kagekiyo accepts a sword maker's challenge that he (Kagekiyo) be shaved using a sickle. The sword maker (an enemy) hopes to take advantage of this opportunity to behead Kagekiyo, but the hero's skin is so tough it repels the weapon!
Fun prints!