Utagawa KuniyoshiJapanese, 1797–1861Popular Ōtsu-e Phenomenon
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Popular Ōtsu-e Phenomenon” now? Collection: Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Minneapolis, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
Folk paintings produced by anonymous artists in Ōmi Province (present-day Shiga Prefecture) during the Edo period came to be called Ōtsu-e (Ōtsu paintings) because they were sold in and around the town of Ōtsu, an official way station on the Tōkaidō road.
Read on
For this print, Kuniyoshi drew on the play Keisei hangonkō (The Beauty Whose Spirit Appears in the Incense Smoke), written for the puppet theater by Chika- matsu Monzaemon (1653–1724). In one dramatic episode, the authorities are about to arrest a certain artist named Matahei on false charges, but the characters in Matahei’s paintings magically spring to life and defend him. The composition was actually slightly subversive. Attempting to evade edicts forbidding the depiction of Kabuki actors, Kuniyoshi substituted the faces of famous performers for the Ōtsu-e characters’ faces. As if taunting government censors, he even pictured the warrior monk Benkei wearing kumadori (Kabuki makeup).
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Details
- Accession number
- 99.59.24a-c
In the catalog
Sources
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Image: Minneapolis Institute of Art — public domain
