Artwork

Ichikawa Norinosuke and Ichikawa Yonejuro as Morihachi and Yonehachi, Two Comedians

Ichikawa Norinosuke and Ichikawa Yonejuro as Morihachi and Yonehachi, Two Comedians is a print by the Romanticist artist Hasegawa Sadanobu. It dates from 1840 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

About this work

Overview

Created around 1840 by the Edo‑period printmaker Hasegawa Sadanobu, this woodblock print portrays two celebrated kabuki actors, Ichikawa Norinosuke and Ichikawa Yonejuro, in the comic roles of Morihachi and Yonehachi. The work belongs to the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection and exemplifies the genre of actor portraiture popular in mid‑nineteenth‑century Japan.

Subject & Meaning

The image captures the two comedians in contrasting poses: one crouches, clutching a long staff, while the other stands upright, holding a small paper slip. Their brightly patterned kimono—blue with red trim opposite red with blue trim—signal their theatrical characters and underscore the playful rivalry typical of comic duos on the kabuki stage.

Technique & Style

Executed as a multicolored woodblock print, the composition relies on a restrained palette of earth tones—browns, beiges, and muted grays—against a simplified landscape of trees, hills and water. The delicate line work and subtle color gradations convey a calm atmosphere while still highlighting the actors’ expressive gestures.

History & Provenance

The print entered the Cleveland Museum of Art as part of its Japanese holdings, acquired through the museum’s early twentieth‑century collecting initiatives. Its attribution to Hasegawa Sadanobu, a prolific publisher of actor prints, has been confirmed by stylistic analysis and comparison with contemporaneous catalogues.

Context

During the late Edo period, actor prints (yakusha-e) served both as promotional material for theatrical performances and as collectible souvenirs for fans. This piece reflects the popularity of comic pairings in kabuki, where the characters Morihachi and Yonehachi would have embodied humor and social satire for contemporary audiences.