The Actor Ichikawa Kuzo II as the Geisha Kimiyoshi

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The Actor Ichikawa Kuzo II as the Geisha Kimiyoshi

Artist Utagawa Kunisada Japanese, 1786-1864

Publisher Fujiokaya Hikotaro

Dateabout 1835-1840

Mediumcolor woodblock print

ClassificationPrints

Credit LineGift of H. A. Fee

Object number

1953.162H

Not on View

Exhibition HistoryToledo, Toledo Museum of Art, Strong Women Beautiful Men: Japanese Portrait Prints from the Toledo Museum of Art, October 14, 2005 - January 2, 2006.Comparative ReferencesSee also, Mueller, Laura J., Toledo Museum of Art, Strong Women Beautiful Men: Japanese Portrait Prints from the Toledo Museum of Art, Amsterdam: Hotei Publishing, 2005.Label TextIn this scene from a Kabuki play, a geisha, or professional female hostess, peers around a wooden door while concealing an object out of sight. Geisha exclusively entertained wealthy men, often in tea houses and restaurants, which lead popular imagination to associate them with glamour and intrigue. To provide their powerful patrons with a chic, cultured experience, accomplished geisha studied extensively and became highly skilled in music, dance, traditional games, and conversation. Similarly, prolific actors like Ichikawa Kuzō II engaged in rigorous training to successfully perform complicated roles, notably after the ban of women from the Kabuki stage in 1629.