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A Kabuki actor as the bandit Shiro in falling snow, from the play Five Courageous Bandits in Five Colors, white
A Kabuki actor as the bandit Shiro in falling snow, from the play Five Courageous Bandits in Five Colors, white

A Kabuki actor as the bandit Shiro in falling snow, from the play Five Courageous Bandits in Five Colors, white

Artist (Japanese, 1835 - 1900)
Place of OriginJapan
Date1850-1900
CultureJapanese
MaterialsInk and colors on paper
DimensionsH. 13 1/2 in x W. 9 3/8 in, H. 34.3 cm x W. 24 cm
Credit LineGift of Toshiro Nakayama
Object number2010.256
DepartmentJapanese Art
ClassificationsPrints And Drawings
On View
Not on view
More Information

This print depicts a stylish bandit staring into the night sky, which is filled with snowflakes. He wears a fashionable scarf around his neck to protect himself from the cold.

In Kabuki theater, bandits are not supervillains, nor are they common thieves. Instead they are decent human beings torn between their obligations and their emotions; some bandit characters even have heroic potential. In the end bandits either repent of their crimes and become "good guys," or are arrested and killed.

Play: Isami no Shiranami Goshiki no Sometsuke, "Shiro"
Actor: unknown
Print format: oban
Publisher: not deciphered