DISCOVERART

Katsukawa Shunzan

Nakamura Nakazo I as Watanabe no Tsuna

1781
One of a triptych of color woodblock prints

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FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

This print is part of a triptych (a composition of three prints) that shows actors portraying three of the four famed protectors of imperial regent Minamoto Yorimitsu (948?–1021). Collectively, they are known as his Shitennō (四天王), or “Four Heavenly Kings,” after the Buddhist deities who guard the four cardinal directions. The characters are indicated by the large house crests on their robes.

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