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Kan U@ŠÖ‰H
KEY WORD :@art history / paintings
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Ch: Guan Yu (d.219 CE). A Chinese general. A painting theme and the subject and title of a *kabuki ‰Ì•‘Šê play. During the Three Kingdoms period he served Liu Bei (Jp: Ryuu Bi —«”õ, 161-223), the Lord of Shu å† (modern Sichuan Žlì). After his death in battle with the Wu Œà and Wei é°, he was deified as the god of war and protector of warriors. In the epic, Record of Three Kingdoms (Ch: Sanguozhi, Jp: SANGOKUSHI ŽO‘Žu), Kan U appears in the incident of the Three Heroes of the Peach Garden (Ch: Taoyuan sanjie, Jp:Touen sanketsu “‰€ŽOŒ†) where he, Liu Bei and Zhang Fei (Jp: Chou Hi ’£”ò, 166-221) take an oath to become blood brothers. Kan U also appears in the episode where the three men brave a snowstorm to entice the hermit Zhu Geliang (Jp: *Sho Katsuryou ”Š‹—º) into service. These exploits and others were illustrated in paintings and in printed picture books such as EHON SANGOKUSHI ŠG–{ŽO‘Žu (1788) and EHON TSUUGOKU SANGOKUSHI ŠG–{’Ê‘­ŽO‘Žu (1836-41). In addition, portraits of Kan U were painted by late Edo period artists such as Matsumura Goshun Œ‘ºŒàt (1752-1811, Tokyo National Museum) and Nagasawa Rosetsu ’·‘òåbá (1754-99; Itsukushima Jinja Œµ“‡_ŽÐ, Hiroshima prefecture), as well as by *ukiyo-e •‚¢ŠG artists who parody Kan U in *mitate-e Œ©—§ŠG or show him as a hero of the kabuki play first KAN U, performed in 1737 by Ichikawa Danjuurou Žsì’c\˜Y. He is usually represented with a huge red face and jet-black beard, waving his famous blue dragon sword. See *Kabuki Juuhachiban ‰Ì•‘Šê\”ª”Ô.
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