Unsigned
Namazu-e, Ichikawa Danjuro VII as Kamakura no Gongoro Kagemasa in the play Shibaraku, 1855
Woodblock Print
15 x 30.50 in (38.10 x 77.47 cm)
414653
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Fine impression, color and condition.
The good hero Kamakura no Gongoro Kagemasa and the villain Kiyohara no Takehira, characters of the famous Shibaraku Aragoto play. Kagemasa, in his brown exaggerated robe, represents the deity of the Kashima Shrine, who is supposed to defeat the priest Namazu Bozu. The priest, as a sumo wrestler, stands wide-legged and stamping on the ground, showing a grim face. His nature as a catfish, can be recognised by the wide open mouth, the long tufts of hair and the strangely shaped head.
Namazu (giant catfish) in Japanese mythology were thought to originate earthquakes when they swished their huge tails.
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