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Iwai Hanshirō IV as a Woman with a Sword

四代目岩井半四郎の刀を持つ女性

1791

Katsukawa Shunei 勝川 春英

(Japanese, 1762–1819)
Japan, Edo period (1615-1868)
color woodblock print
Sheet: 31.5 x 14 cm (12 3/8 x 5 1/2 in.)
Gift from J. H. Wade 1921.1287
Location: not on view
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Description

In this unidentified role, Iwai Hanshirō IV is costumed as a woman with long flowing hair, wielding a sword. Men of the Edo period shaved their head from the forehead back to the crown, leaving the side and back hair long, though tied in an updo. Even after the practice was abandoned for Kabuki theater actors specializing in female roles, they kept the custom of concealing the area that would once have been bare, so Hanshirō has a murasaki no bōshi (紫の帽子), or purple headband, attached to his wig.
Iwai Hanshirō IV as a Woman with a Sword

Iwai Hanshirō IV as a Woman with a Sword

1791

Katsukawa Shunei

(Japanese, 1762–1819)
Japan, Edo period (1615-1868)

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