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Iwai Hanshirō IV as a Woman with a Sword
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Iwai Hanshirō IV as a Woman with a Sword

Katsukawa Shunei (Japanese, 1762–1819), artist · 1791 · color woodblock print

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.

About this work

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.

Cleveland Museum of Art’s own description
Credit lineIwai 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 (Japanese, 1762–1819). Color woodblock print; sheet: 31.5 x 14 cm (12 3/8 x 5 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift from J. H. Wade, 1921.1287
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