Ichikawa Danjūrō VII Preparing New Year's Gifts 1820 - 1840

Curator: First impressions—chaos! There's a nervous energy in the figure and the sheer volume of paper. It's almost dizzying, a festive panic of getting ready. Editor: You've picked up well on the chaotic feeling. What we have here is a woodblock print by Utagawa Kunisada. It's thought to have been produced sometime between 1820 and 1840, and is titled "Ichikawa Danjūrō VII Preparing New Year's Gifts." It now resides at the Metropolitan Museum. Curator: So, that flurry of papers becomes gift wrapping supplies then? He’s like a feudal Santa Claus with anxiety, I imagine. I feel like I recognize that actor, too! Editor: Ichikawa Danjūrō VII was a prominent Kabuki actor during the Edo period. These prints were hugely popular as collectibles and kind of served as publicity material for the actors. In some cases they immortalized roles or even documented their daily lives, so that makes it quite different to old Saint Nick's tale. Curator: Ah, so like a magazine spread. He's captured with all these details, though. I get this overwhelming feeling he is just overwhelmed, right at that instant, like it was the biggest moment ever. Look at the color choices too! Editor: The style is very typical of ukiyo-e prints, known for their bold outlines and flat planes of color. But I do see what you mean about it all converging, that anxiety becomes something else: he embodies Japan at that moment! His outfit blends in as does the room. Curator: It is so intimate, to get this behind-the-scenes glance into his preparations. A glimpse of this guy and all his fame just sat preparing. But his concentrated expression humanizes him, makes him somehow touchable despite his status and that mountain of gifts he probably owes to everyone. Editor: And this image participates in that very public performance of his identity. Kabuki itself involved audience participation, with spectators shouting out stage names or praising particular scenes. Curator: So, a collective creation almost, the artwork, the actor and the public together, everyone shaping everything at once! Editor: Precisely, and that speaks to the fascinating and layered relationship that these woodblock prints helped foster. Thank you so much for being here! Curator: Anytime. Always wonderful to find myself pleasantly lost in these fascinating artifacts and their world.