Kitagawa Utamaro, Act VII from the series The Storehouse of Loyal Retainers
Kelvin Smith, 1985.360 · The Cleveland Museum of Art, Open Access (CC0)View original →
Kitagawa Utamaro

Act VII from the series The Storehouse of Loyal Retainers

c. 1801–2

Current Collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Medium
Color woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
39.1 × 26.3 cm
Status
In Museum Collection
Collect24 Art ID
C24-195969

This series gives a famous play a humorous spin by altering the setting and some parts of the narrative. Utamaro kept his jokes accessible by picturing the action of the original episode to the side of the main image for easy reference. In this print, a spy reading a letter is turned into a dog; both can be pronounced inu in Japanese. In the stage version of this scene, the loyal samurai Oboshi Yuranosuke reads an important letter relating details of the plot to avenge the unjust death of his master. The spy Kudayu also reads the note as it unrolls beneath the veranda. On the balcony, the jea…

Provenance

Kelvin Smith, 1985.360

Registry history

  • c. 1801–2 — Recorded in the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art — prints

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