Ichimura Uzaemon IX as Shingen in “A String of Prayer Beads Shaken at a Ribbon of Waterfall” Japan, Edo period (1615-1868)

Ichimura Uzaemon IX as Shingen in “A String of Prayer Beads Shaken at a Ribbon of Waterfall”

滝糸動玉緒九代目市村宇左衛門の信玄

1775

Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章

(Japanese, 1726–1792)

Japan, Edo period (1615-1868)

color woodblock print

Sheet: 33.4 x 15 cm (13 1/8 x 5 7/8 in.)

Gift from J. H. Wade 1921.1270

Location: not on view

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Description

Once the center print of a triptych (a composition of three prints), this design shows Ichimura Uzaemon IX playing Takeda Harunobu (1521–1573), a storied general who received the name Shingen upon taking Buddhist vows. In the story, Shingen attempts to cut off his enemy’s water supply, using a spell to imprison the dragon god who controlled it. However, a young woman named Sakura-hime gets him drunk. While he is indisposed, she and her lover release the dragon, whereupon it rains. Here, Shingen, in Buddhist robes, grips his string of prayer beads between his teeth.