• Pentaptych: <i>bijin</i> holding puppets of actors as <i>otokodate</i> - from the left - Bandō Mitsugorō III (坂東三津五郎) as An no Heibei (安ノ平兵衛), Onoe Kikugorō III (尾上菊五郎) as Gokuin Sen'emon (極印千右衞門), Matsumoto Kōshirō V (松本幸四郎) as Kaminari Shōkurō (雷庄九郎), Seki Sanjūrō II (関三十郎) as Hotei Ichiemon (布袋市右衛門) and Ichikawa Danjūrō VII (市川團十郎) as Karigane Bunshichi (雁金文七) - from the series 'Five Chivalrous Men as Puppets' (<i>Mitate ningyō gonin otoko</i> - 見立人形五人男)
Pentaptych: <i>bijin</i> holding puppets of actors as <i>otokodate</i> - from the left - Bandō Mitsugorō III (坂東三津五郎) as An no Heibei (安ノ平兵衛), Onoe Kikugorō III (尾上菊五郎) as Gokuin Sen'emon (極印千右衞門), Matsumoto Kōshirō V (松本幸四郎) as Kaminari Shōkurō (雷庄九郎), Seki Sanjūrō II (関三十郎) as Hotei Ichiemon (布袋市右衛門) and Ichikawa Danjūrō VII (市川團十郎) as Karigane Bunshichi (雁金文七) - from the series 'Five Chivalrous Men as Puppets' (<i>Mitate ningyō gonin otoko</i> - 見立人形五人男)
Pentaptych: <i>bijin</i> holding puppets of actors as <i>otokodate</i> - from the left - Bandō Mitsugorō III (坂東三津五郎) as An no Heibei (安ノ平兵衛), Onoe Kikugorō III (尾上菊五郎) as Gokuin Sen'emon (極印千右衞門), Matsumoto Kōshirō V (松本幸四郎) as Kaminari Shōkurō (雷庄九郎), Seki Sanjūrō II (関三十郎) as Hotei Ichiemon (布袋市右衛門) and Ichikawa Danjūrō VII (市川團十郎) as Karigane Bunshichi (雁金文七) - from the series 'Five Chivalrous Men as Puppets' (<i>Mitate ningyō gonin otoko</i> - 見立人形五人男)
Pentaptych: <i>bijin</i> holding puppets of actors as <i>otokodate</i> - from the left - Bandō Mitsugorō III (坂東三津五郎) as An no Heibei (安ノ平兵衛), Onoe Kikugorō III (尾上菊五郎) as Gokuin Sen'emon (極印千右衞門), Matsumoto Kōshirō V (松本幸四郎) as Kaminari Shōkurō (雷庄九郎), Seki Sanjūrō II (関三十郎) as Hotei Ichiemon (布袋市右衛門) and Ichikawa Danjūrō VII (市川團十郎) as Karigane Bunshichi (雁金文七) - from the series 'Five Chivalrous Men as Puppets' (<i>Mitate ningyō gonin otoko</i> - 見立人形五人男)
Pentaptych: <i>bijin</i> holding puppets of actors as <i>otokodate</i> - from the left - Bandō Mitsugorō III (坂東三津五郎) as An no Heibei (安ノ平兵衛), Onoe Kikugorō III (尾上菊五郎) as Gokuin Sen'emon (極印千右衞門), Matsumoto Kōshirō V (松本幸四郎) as Kaminari Shōkurō (雷庄九郎), Seki Sanjūrō II (関三十郎) as Hotei Ichiemon (布袋市右衛門) and Ichikawa Danjūrō VII (市川團十郎) as Karigane Bunshichi (雁金文七) - from the series 'Five Chivalrous Men as Puppets' (<i>Mitate ningyō gonin otoko</i> - 見立人形五人男)
Pentaptych: <i>bijin</i> holding puppets of actors as <i>otokodate</i> - from the left - Bandō Mitsugorō III (坂東三津五郎) as An no Heibei (安ノ平兵衛), Onoe Kikugorō III (尾上菊五郎) as Gokuin Sen'emon (極印千右衞門), Matsumoto Kōshirō V (松本幸四郎) as Kaminari Shōkurō (雷庄九郎), Seki Sanjūrō II (関三十郎) as Hotei Ichiemon (布袋市右衛門) and Ichikawa Danjūrō VII (市川團十郎) as Karigane Bunshichi (雁金文七) - from the series 'Five Chivalrous Men as Puppets' (<i>Mitate ningyō gonin otoko</i> - 見立人形五人男)

Utagawa Kuniyasu (歌川国安) (artist 1794 – 1832)

Pentaptych: bijin holding puppets of actors as otokodate - from the left - Bandō Mitsugorō III (坂東三津五郎) as An no Heibei (安ノ平兵衛), Onoe Kikugorō III (尾上菊五郎) as Gokuin Sen'emon (極印千右衞門), Matsumoto Kōshirō V (松本幸四郎) as Kaminari Shōkurō (雷庄九郎), Seki Sanjūrō II (関三十郎) as Hotei Ichiemon (布袋市右衛門) and Ichikawa Danjūrō VII (市川團十郎) as Karigane Bunshichi (雁金文七) - from the series 'Five Chivalrous Men as Puppets' (Mitate ningyō gonin otoko - 見立人形五人男)

Print


1820s
9.75 in x 72.5 in (Overall dimensions) woodblock print
Signed: Kuniyasu ga (国安画)
Publisher: Uemura Yohei
(Marks 564 - seal 05-007)
Censor's seal: kiwame
Art Institute of Chicago - far right print only
Art Institute of Chicago - 2nd from left only
National Museum of Japanese History - print from another set of female otokodate
Lyon Collection - another example of the far left panel
Lyon Collection - another example of the middle panel The tradition of figures holding puppets representing famous actors goes back to at least as early as the beginning of the 18th century. Originally these were black and white images that could be hand-colored. In certain cases it was famous actors who held up the puppets and in one exceptional case is an example showing an actor holding a puppet of himself in another role. Many artists took part in such representations. These included Okamura Masanobu, Toshinobu, Toyonobu, Kiyomasa II, Kiyomitsu I, Harunobu, Kiyonaga, Utamaro, Toyokuni I, et al. We have added a number of examples which you can see for yourself by clicking on the small jpegs below the Kuniyasu pentaptych on this page.
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Under pink flowering blossoms the bust portraits of five fashionable young Edoite beauties operating five puppets in the likeness of the Kabuki heroes of the day in the roles of the 'Five Street Heroes'. Highly unusual, inventive and extremely rare.

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The otokodate frequently carried shakuhachi flutes both for playing and to as symbols of their authority because they often used them as weapons. In these prints some of the 'puppets' are carrying them on their backs and can be seen partially poking out. (JSV)
beautiful women (bijin-ga - 美人画) (genre)
Ichikawa Danjūrō VII (七代目市川團十郎: 11/1800 to 2/1832) (actor)
Uemura Yohei (上村与兵衛) (publisher)
mitate-e (見立て絵) (genre)
mitate-e (見立て絵) (author)
Bandō Mitsugorō III (三代目坂東三津五郎: 11/1799 to 12/1831) (actor)
Onoe Kikugorō III (三代目尾上菊五郎: 11/1815-3/1848) (actor)
Matsumoto Kōshirō V (五代目松本幸四郎: 11/1801 to 5/1838) (actor)
Seki Sanjūrō II (二代目関三十郎: 11/1807-2/1839) (actor)
Otokodate - chivalrous men (男伊達) (genre)