Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III). Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjūrō VII Evoking the Poet Ōtomo Kuronushi, from the series ‘Tōsei rokkasen’ / Fan print, 1833.

Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865).

Signature: Kunisada ga [国貞画] in a red double-gourd cartouche.

No publisher’s seal, no date or censor’s seal is present on this print.

Publisher:  Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. c. 1815 – 1869) (inferred)

Date: 1833 (inferred)

Media: Fan print (aiban uchiwa-e); 232 x 289 mm.

Series: Tosei rok’kasen or Tosei rokkasen [當世六花撰]  – two translations: (1) by Sebastian Izzard: Six choice modern flowers, (2) by Horst Graebner: Modern Six [Immortal] Poets.

Character: Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjūrō VII [七代目 市川 團十郎]; other names: Ichikawa Ebizō V, Ichikawa Shinnosuke I (Japanese, 1791 – 1859).

Poet: Ōtomo no Kuronushi [大伴 黒主]  (instead of 大友黒主 – alternative spelling, Japanese, dates unknown)

Provenance: Paul F. Walter.

A fan print featuring a half-length, three-quarter view, turned to the right portrait of Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjūrō VII. He wipes off his stage makeup with a white towel (tenugui, 手拭い) held to his face. He wears a black kimono with bold geometric motifs of nested squares, referencing the Mimasu-mon (三升紋, Mitsumasu-mon), the Ichikawa Danjūrō family crest, visible on his sleeves and shoulders. He is seated in front of a lacquered mirror stand, adorned with gilt peonies (牡丹) and arabesque (唐草, karakusa).

The background features a blue and purple gradient decorated with floral roundels, with a red hanging scroll inscribed with Ōtomo no Kuronushi’s name. The series title Tōsei Rokkasen (当世六歌撰) appears in the red cartouche to the left, and the artist’s signature is in the double-gourd red cartouche to the right.

This print does not have a reverse side with publisher and date seals, but based on similar prints from the series, it is likely a double-sheet composition originally produced with these details on the back.

Izzard: “… six prints make up this set of fan prints, which compares contemporary artists with classic poets, in this case, Ichikawa Danjūrō VII with Ōtomo no Kuronushi [大友 黒主]  (Japanese, dates unknown)”. Rok’kasen [六歌仙] – six poetry immortals.

According to Izzard, identification of the portrayed person is made possible by mimasu-mon [三升] on the robe, scrolling peony on the back of the mirror, and cloth decorated with the characters Yauan, one of the actor’s poetry names, and other signs and symbols, including the inscription of the acter’s guild name Naritaya. The absence of the publisher’s emblem and censorship seals may indicate that this was a privately issued print, not for public use.

Note (by Horst Graebner): 當世 = tōsei = present-day; nowadays or modern/contemporary 六花撰 = rokkasen; lit. six flowers, and means, among other things, six beauties, six actors or the six Immortal poets. Since the title is written with the kanji 六花撰 instead of the usual 六歌撰, (for The Six Immortal Poets), the series title appropriately could therefore mean: Modern/contemporary flowers (actors) as the Six [Immortal] Poets. The same is true for all the prints in the series.

Update – 03 March 2025: After acquiring three additional prints from this series, it became evident that these fan prints are double-sheet compositions, with the publisher’s seal, date seal, and censor’s seal located on the reverse side of the fan. See SVJP-0469.2025, SVJP-0470.2025, and SVJP-0471.2025 for reference.

Ref: (1) [LIB-2967.2022] Utagawa Kunisada (1786 – 1865): His world revisited / Catalogue № 17, Exhibition March 17-21, 2021. — NY: Sebastian Izzard, LLC., 2021; p. 130-1, fig. 42). (2) Lyon Collection.

Bandō Mitsugorō IV — Sōjō Henjō	Nakamura Shikan II — Kisen Hōshi	Ichikawa Danzō V — Fun’ya Yasuhide	Sawamura Tosshō I — Ariwara Narihira	Ichikawa Danjūrō VII — Ōtomo Kuronushi