The Bridal Journey, number 8 from the series The Loyal League of Forty-seven Ronin (Uki-E Chushingura)
Katsukawa Shunsen, Japanese, about 1762 - 1830
after 1806
Color woodblock print on Japanese paper
Set of 11
Overall: 9 3/8 × 13 in. (23.8 × 33 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Claire E. and Dr. Frederick R. Mebel, Class of 1935
PR.975.25
Geography
Place Made: Japan, East Asia, Asia
Period
19th century
Object Name
Research Area
Not on view
Label
Act 8: The Bridal Journey: Act 8 is concerned entirely with the journey of Konami and her mother, Tonase, to the house of Konami’s betrothed, Rikiya, the son of Yuranosuke. This scene consists mostly of dialogue, as Konami expresses her fears and doubts about her forthcoming marriage. The bridal journey is known as a michiyuki (travel scene). Often staged as dances in front of scenery that slowly rolled across the stage, michiyuki provided an interlude after or before an emotionally charged act or scene. Kabuki audiences took the opportunity to stretch, eat, converse, and relax. In abbreviated versions of Ch shingura, the eighth act was frequently eliminated in favor of moving directly to act 9, a complex and compelling resolution to another of the play’s important subplots.
From the 2019 exhibition Narratives in Japanese Woodblock Prints, guest curated by Allen Hockley, Associate Professor of Art History at Dartmouth
Course History
ARTH 62.3, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Winter 2019
ARTH 62.30/ASCL 62.12, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Spring 2022
Art History 62.30, Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages 62.12, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Spring 2023
Art History 62.30, Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages 62.12, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Summer 2023
Exhibition History
Narratives in Japanese Woodblock Prints, Class of 1967 Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 27-June 9, 2019.
Palmer Lounge Cases, Hopkins Center Art Galleries, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, October 1975.
Provenance
Dr. Frederick Ronald Mebel (1913-1998) and Claire E. Mebel (1916-1994); Rockville Center, New York; given to present collection, 1975.
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