The Actor Arashi Koroku IV in the Final Farewell Performance of His Career (Shōgai onagori kyōgen) as the Female Bandit Hotei Oichi 1826

Curator: Well, hello there! Gaze upon this marvel crafted by Shunkosai Hokushu in 1826, titled "The Actor Arashi Koroku IV in the Final Farewell Performance of His Career (Shogai onagori kyogen) as the Female Bandit Hotei Oichi." Quite a mouthful, eh? This exquisite Ukiyo-e woodblock print resides here at the Metropolitan Museum. What catches your eye first? Editor: The tension. Despite the static composition, I immediately sense drama, particularly within the contrasting colours of red and blue that carve the pictorial space in balanced asymmetry, not unlike what Eisenstein wrote about! The red shouts while the blue contains—it makes her feel simultaneously contained and about to spring forth. Curator: Yes, isn't it marvelous how Hokushu captured such dynamism? You've pinpointed the contrast perfectly! The actor, you see, is portrayed as a female bandit, Hotei Oichi, during Arashi Koroku IV’s farewell performance—an emotional zenith, naturally, during his esteemed career. Can you see it reflected in the stylized, stoic expression and somewhat poised, melancholic gaze? I think that gaze contains his past as well as a quiet awareness about his future role…it makes you wonder! Editor: The tension arises because, structurally, her head points one way, and the strong linear pull of her clothing flows in the complete opposite direction; a superb counterpoint that accentuates instability. Hokushu even adds another linear element—a poem off to the left. Semiotically speaking, even if the print had been divorced from its name, these lines suggest narrative depth, doesn't it? But where is that narrative headed? Is it the ending or a path into uncharted waters for both Arashi Koroku's and Oichi's character? Curator: Exactly! You’ve articulated it perfectly. It is this ambiguity coupled with dynamic color theory and that perfectly stilted, slightly melancholy androgynous, somewhat aloof glance—or simply just 'a look,' rather—that allows us to reflect upon finality. Looking at his portrait really strikes an interesting nerve about what happens to us and all our acquired experience during that inevitable shift called 'the future'! Editor: What a rich convergence of artistic styles and emotions from what at first appears to be an almost stoic print! Now, after diving a little beneath the surface of this artwork with you, it reads with complexity and layered, hidden narratives. A fascinating piece, especially after our brief journey through its form and subject!