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Conservation Status: After Treatment

Symbols of Good Fortune for the Ichikawa Lineage: A Lobster in the Shape of the Treasure Boat (Takarabune)

(Japanese, 1787–1868)
(Japanese)
1832 (Tenpô 3), 3rd month
Medium/TechniqueWoodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
DimensionsHorizontal double ôban; 41.5 x 57.7 cm (16 5/16 x 22 11/16 in.)
Credit LineBequest of William Perkins Babcock
Accession number00.1682
On View
Not on view
ClassificationsPrints
Description
Many surimono refer to the career of Ichikawa Danjuro VII, the top kabuki actor during the early 19th century, when the craze for surimono was at its height. This large work commemorated the famous name change of 1832, when Danjuro VII exchanged names with his talented young son, who became Danjuro VIII. The lucky takarabune (“treasure boat”)—typical laden with rice and treasures and accompanied by the Seven Lucky Gods appears here as a lobster, an auspicious symbol of long life. Instead of treasures it carries the “three boxes” insignia of the Ichikawa line.
InscriptionsPoems by Hakuen (Danjûrô VII) and Mimasu (Danjûrô VIII).
ProvenanceBy 1900, William Perkins Babcock (b. 1826 - d. 1899), Boston and Paris; 1900, bequest of William Perkins Babcock to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 05, 1900)
Congratulations (Kotobuki) to the Ichikawa Family [crest]! History of the Ichikawa Line (Edo Ichikawa ryû), Portrait of Actor Ichikawa Danjûrô I, and List of the Eighteen Great Kabuki Plays (Kabuki kyôgen kumi Jûhachiban), in Honor of the Name Change of Ichikawa Danjûrô VII to Ebizô and His Son, the Former Ebizô, to Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII, in the Third Month of the Year of the Water Dragon (Mizunoe tatsu, sangatsu, Ichikawa Nanadaime Danjûrô aratame Ebizô, Jisshi Ichikawa Hachidaime Ebizô aratame Danjûrô)
Congratulations (Kotobuki) to the Ichikawa Family [crest]! History of the Ichikawa Line (Edo Ichikawa ryû), Portrait of Actor Ichikawa Danjûrô I, and List of the Eighteen Great Kabuki Plays (Kabuki kyôgen kumi Jûhachiban), in Honor of the Name Change of Ichikawa Danjûrô VII to Ebizô and His Son, the Former Ebizô, to Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII, in the Third Month of the Year of the Water Dragon (Mizunoe tatsu, sangatsu, Ichikawa Nanadaime Danjûrô aratame Ebizô, Jisshi Ichikawa Hachidaime Ebizô aratame Danjûrô)
Torii Kiyomitsu II (Kiyomine)
1832 (Tenpô 3), 3rd month
Actor Ichikawa Danjûrô VII as Gorô Sharpening the Arrow (Yanone Gorô)
Actor Ichikawa Danjûrô VII as Gorô Sharpening the Arrow (Yanone Gorô)
Torii Kiyomitsu II (Kiyomine)
Earth (Do): Courtesan Looking at a Planter with the Seven Herbs, from the series Five Elements for the Bunsai Poetry Group, a Comparison of Guides to the Pleasure Quarters (Bunsaigawa gogyô, kagai saiken awase)
Earth (Do): Courtesan Looking at a Planter with the Seven Herbs, from the series Five Elements for the Bunsai Poetry Group, a Comparison of Guides to the Pleasure Quarters (Bunsaigawa gogyô, kagai saiken awase)
Torii Kiyomitsu II (Kiyomine)
about 1819 (Bunsei 2)
Symbols of Good Fortune for the Ichikawa Lineage: A Lobster in the Shape of the Treasure Boat (Takarabune)
Symbols of Good Fortune for the Ichikawa Lineage: A Lobster in the Shape of the Treasure Boat (Takarabune)
Torii Kiyomitsu II (Kiyomine)
1832 (Tenpô 3), 3rd month
Image Not Available for Surimono for Actor Nakamura Kanzaburô XIII, in Auspicious Plays (Kotobuki kyôgen) at the Namakura Theater
Surimono for Actor Nakamura Kanzaburô XIII, in Auspicious Plays (Kotobuki kyôgen) at the Namakura Theater
Torii Kiyomitsu II (Kiyomine)
1865 (Genji 2/Keiô 1), midsummer
Summer (Mosquito Net): Inaoka of the Okamotoya, from the series Songs of the Four Seasons in the Pleasure Quarters (Seirô shiki no uta)
Summer (Mosquito Net): Inaoka of the Okamotoya, from the series Songs of the Four Seasons in the Pleasure Quarters (Seirô shiki no uta)
Torii Kiyomitsu II (Kiyomine)
1810s
Parody of the Story of Yoritomo Releasing Cranes at Yuigahama
Parody of the Story of Yoritomo Releasing Cranes at Yuigahama
Torii Kiyomitsu II (Kiyomine)
about 1815 (Bunka 12)
Parody of the Story of Yoritomo Releasing Cranes at Yuigahama
Parody of the Story of Yoritomo Releasing Cranes at Yuigahama
Torii Kiyomitsu II (Kiyomine)
about 1815 (Bunka 12)
Shinowara of the Tsuruya in Kyô-machi Itchôme, from the series Songs of the Four Seasons in the Pleasure Quarters (Seirô shiki no uta)
Shinowara of the Tsuruya in Kyô-machi Itchôme, from the series Songs of the Four Seasons in the Pleasure Quarters (Seirô shiki no uta)
Torii Kiyomitsu II (Kiyomine)
Masanagi of the Tamaya in Edo-machi Itchôme, from the series Songs of the Four Seasons in the Pleasure Quarters (Seirô shiki no uta)
Masanagi of the Tamaya in Edo-machi Itchôme, from the series Songs of the Four Seasons in the Pleasure Quarters (Seirô shiki no uta)
Torii Kiyomitsu II (Kiyomine)
Miyoharu of the Sanomasuya in Edo-machi nichôme, attendants Midori, Miyono, Hanagae, and Mitsushio
Miyoharu of the Sanomasuya in Edo-machi nichôme, attendants Midori, Miyono, Hanagae, and Mitsushio
Torii Kiyomitsu II (Kiyomine)
Hananoto of the Ebiya in Kyô-machi itchôme, from the series Songs of the Four Seasons in the Pleasure Quarters (Seirô shiki no uta)
Hananoto of the Ebiya in Kyô-machi itchôme, from the series Songs of the Four Seasons in the Pleasure Quarters (Seirô shiki no uta)
Torii Kiyomitsu II (Kiyomine)