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Ichikawa Monnosuke II as Urabe no Suetake
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This print is part of a triptych (a composition of three prints) that shows actors portraying three of the four famed protectors of imperial regent Minamoto Yorimitsu (948?–1021). Collectively, they are known as his Shitennō (四天王), or “Four Heavenly Kings,” after the Buddhist deities who guard the four cardinal directions. The characters are indicated by the large house crests on their robes.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineIchikawa Monnosuke II as Urabe no Suetake (二代目市川門之助の卜部季末武), 1781. Katsukawa Shunzan (Japanese, active c. 1782–98). One of a triptych of color woodblock prints; sheet: 31 x 14.5 cm (12 3/16 x 5 11/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift from J. H. Wade, 1921.314.a
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