Soga Gorō Sharpening His Arrow
Artist
Torii Kiyotada IV
(Japanese, 1875 – 1941)
Date1899
PeriodMeiji period (1868–1912)
CultureJapanese
MediumTwo-panel folding screen; ink, colors, and metallic pigments on paper
ClassificationPaintings
Credit LineGift of Gerald Hill, 2018
Object numberSN11626
This painting depicts an actor in the role of Soga Gorō from a dramatization of the story of the Soga brothers, an incident first recounted in the medieval revenge epic Soga monogatari. The story was popularized on the kabuki stage; this episode, in which the younger of the two Soga brothers sharpens his arrows, is taken from a short, dramatic dance.
The artist, Torii Kiyotada IV, was the seventh head of the Torii family that dominated the genre of actor portraits from the 18th century. While best known for his print designs, he also painted, but large-format works such as this screen are rare today.
Recent conservation treatment of this screen was supported by Sylvia Barber and the Peck Stacpoole Foundation.
On View
Not on viewCollections
Overall (Closed): 51 7/16 × 28 × 1 3/8 in. (130.6 × 71.1 × 3.5 cm)
c. 1880–1910
18th century
Late 17th–early 18th century
Late 17th–early 18th century
late 19th or early 20th century
