Famed characters from the world’s longest-running theatrical art form take center stage in colorful woodblock prints.
Vivid colors and extraordinary costumes bring drama and grandeur to the Tateuchi Japanese Galleries in woodblock prints by Tsukioka Kogyo (1869–1927). The prints are selected from Kogyo’s One Hundred Plays of the Noh Theater series, published between 1922 and 1926 as a limited edition set of 100 images and luxuriously embellished with gold, silver, and mica. Each print captures a key onstage moment from a major Noh play.
As Noh theater’s status in Japan evolved over centuries, its actors’ outfits grew into finely crafted works of art. Accordingly, Kogyo’s highly detailed portraits could double as a master class in costuming. Elaborately layered garments combine with wigs, headdresses, masks, fans, and other props to symbolically convey each character’s identity while radiating visual appeal.
The exhibition is curated by Yuki Morishima, associate curator of Japanese art. All prints on view were donated by Mr. Philip Snell of San Francisco. The Asian Art Museum’s permanent collection includes a complete set of this series, 96 of which were generously provided by Mr. Snell.
