id:			147982
accession number:	1974.78
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1974.78
updated:		2023-04-23 11:15:57.184000

Matsumoto Koshiro IV as Gorobei, the Fish Seller from Sanya, 1794. Tōshūsai Sharaku (Japanese). Color woodblock print; sheet: 38.4 x 25.1 cm (15 1/8 x 9 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Jeptha H. Wade in honor of Emily V. Wade 1974.78

title:				Matsumoto Koshiro IV as Gorobei, the Fish Seller from Sanya
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			1794
creation date earliest:		1794
creation date latest:		1794
current location:		
creditline:			Gift of Jeptha H. Wade in honor of Emily V. Wade
copyright:			

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culture:	Japan, Edo period (1615-1868)
technique:	color woodblock print
department:	Japanese Art
collection:	Japanese Art
type:		Print
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

* Tōshūsai Sharaku (Japanese)  - artist

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measurements: Sheet: 38.4 x 25.1 cm (15 1/8 x 9 7/8 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

	inscription:	Signature: Toshusai Sharaku ga
Publisher: Tsutaya Juzaburo (emblem)
Censorship Seal: kiwame
	translation:	
	remark:		

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Year in Review: 1974
	opening date:   1975-03-11T04:00:00
	<i>Year in Review: 1974</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 11-April 6, 1975).

	title:		Visions of Japan: Prints and Paintings from Cleveland Collections
	opening date:   2004-12-12T00:00:00
	<i>Visions of Japan: Prints and Paintings from Cleveland Collections</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 12, 2004-April 10, 2005).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* Cleveland Museum of Art, 1975: Year in Review 1974.<br>Cleveland Museum of Art Education Department: Japanese Woodblock Prints: Themes and Techniques.

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PROVENANCE

	(Wakai, sold to Jeptha H. Wade III)
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Jeptha H. Wade III [1924-2008], Bedford, MA, ?-1974, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: ?-1974
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 1974-present
	date: 1974-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:


digital description:


wall description:
Sharaku portrayed the actor Matsumoto Koshiro IV in his role as the fish merchant Gorobei in the play <em>A Medley of Tales of Revenge</em>, performed at the Kiri Theater in June 1794. The actor specialized in the <em>wagoto</em>, or "gentle style," of acting. In the play, the fish merchant, whose business is located near the Yoshiwara, helps two courtesan sisters avenge their father’s murder. Sharaku created portraits for seven actors appearing in this play. During his ten-month career, Sharaku created about 150 designs for prints, including 28 bust portraits. Many of the portraits were printed with a gray mica background, a popular technique banned in 1794, the year Sharaku was active as a print designer. Censorship edicts restricted themes, sizes, and techniques used in the printing industry as an attempt to curtail the luxuries of the merchant class, patrons of prints. Although the lowest class in society, they had become the wealthiest class by the 18th century. In an effort to maintain a hierarchy, governmental edicts often regulated basic aspects of life.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 389
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n409

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1974.78/1974.78_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1974.78/1974.78_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1974.78/1974.78_full.tif