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Illustrations of Kyogen Performances
This folding album consists of 25 double-page color woodblock printed illustrations of kyōgen, humorous sketches that were performed between plays in a Noh theater production. Kyōgen are light-hearted comedies that mainly describe the daily life of ordinary people, such as master and servant, priest and layman, husband and wife, or swindler and country bumpkin. Unlike Noh, most of the plays are performed without masks, and a universal humanity is depicted through laughter. A wide variety of characters appear in kyōgen, but at their core, they are all down-to-earth. Typical characters include women, tarōkaja (the servant of a master or manor lord), daimyō (a local manor lord), priests, swindlers, and non-human characters–all of which are featured in this album.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Lionel Katzoff, Baltimore, MD [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 2023, by bequest.
Geographies
Japan, Nagoya (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 9 1/8 × W: 6 7/16 × D: 15/16 in. (23.1 × 16.4 × 2.4 cm)
Credit Line
Bequest of Lionel Katzoff, 2023
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
92.1372