Thursday 11 November 2004
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Heroes of the Kabuki Stage: A socio-historical introduction to the Japanese Kabuki theatre and actor prints with retellings of thirty-seven popular kabuki plays
Daiwa Foundation Japan House
Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
By Arendie and Henk Herwig
Published by Hotei Publishing
Heroes of the Kabuki Stage is written for kabuki enthusiasts and collectors of kabuki prints eager to know more about the genre’s scenes and roles. This richly illustrated book introduces kabuki theatre in its historical and social context of pre-modern Japan and discusses the evolution of the theatres, acting traditions, stage conventions, costumes and make-up, and the unique interaction between kabuki and print designers. Thirty-seven popular kabuki plays, many of which are still performed today, and are retold and illustrated by prints from the eighteenth to the twentieth century.
About the contributors
Arendie and Henk Herwig
Arendie and Henk Herwig have been collecting nineteenth century Japanese woodblock prints for more than thirty years and their interest has led them to an extensive study of the theatrical context of kabuki prints. Arendie Herwig regularly writes articles about architecture and Japanese art. She was the first female orthopaedic surgeon in The Netherlands. After a medical career of almost 20 years, she turned to Art History and obtained her Master’s degree in Architecture from Leiden University. Henk J. Herwig is Editor-in-Chief of Andon, the Bulletin of the Society for Japanese Arts. He is a retired Associate Professor of Zoology and Cell Biology at Utrecht University.
Israel Goldman
Israel Goldman (chair) is an international dealer in Japanese art, specializing in prints and illustrated books. He studied with John Rosenfield and Roger Keyes and received a BA in Fine Arts from Harvard University in 1981. He is co-author of ‘Hiroshige: Birds and Flowers’ (1988) and was a major lender to the British Museum exhibition, ‘Demon of Painting: The Art of Kawanabe Kyosai’ (1993). He was also guest curator of ‘Comic Genius: Kawanabe Kyosai’ at the Odakyu Museum in Tokyo (1996).