This museum exhibits ukiyo-e woodblock prints produced in Osaka in the Edo period. Most of the ukiyo-e prints made in Osaka were portraits of kabuki actors in which you can see how the stage and the actors were like at the time.
The Horikawa River runs all over Osaka like a net, thus the city is called “water city”. Horikawa riverboats supported the physical distribution and the economy of Osaka. The Dotombori River runs near the kabuki theatres (Naka-za and Kado-za). People used boats to go to the theatres and as the kabuki opening ceremony was (and is) held on board, riverboats and the Osaka kabuki plays have strong relations.
In this feature exhibition, we focus on the kabuki plays that features riverboats. In kabuki plays, riverboats carry not only people and goods but also the story and feelings of characters. Welcome aboard the riverboats in ukiyo-e.