Utagawa Fusatane. Nakamura Shikan IV as Ōtaku Tarō and Suketakaya Takasuke IV as Princess Takiyasha, from the series ‘Mitate kyōgen tsukushi’ / Fan print, 1882.

Artist: [画工] (Gakō): Murai Seima [村井 静馬], address: Honjo-Sotodechō, 18 [本所外手丁十八番地], a.k.a. Utagawa Fusatane [歌川房種] (Japanese, fl. 1854 – 1889)

Signed: Ōsai Fusatane Hitsu [桜斎房種筆] in a cartouche with a red round stamp

Block carver: Wada Yūjirō (和田勇次郎), seal: 彫勇 (Hori Yū), Friese 2009, № 225

Publisher: Kawaraski Sotokichi [河原崎外吉]

Round Nengō Seal: Year of the Ox, Meiji 15 (1882)

Media: Uchiwa-e (団扇絵), color woodblock print, 253 x 260 mm

Actors and Roles:

• Actor: Nakamura Shikan IV (中村芝翫)
  • Role: Ōtaku Tarō (大屋太郎)
• Actor: Suketakaya Takasuke IV (助高屋高助)
  • Role: Princess Takiyasha (滝夜叉姫)

Series: A collection of imagined kyōgen (Mitate kyōgen tsukushi, 見立狂言盡)

Nakamura Shikan IV, as Ōtaku Tarō, wears a richly decorated kimono with floral patterns and grips a sword. Suketakaya Takasuke, as Princess Takiyasha, appears in a layered kimono with cloud motifs, her hair adorned with multiple ornaments. The actors are depicted in imagined roles.

Here is Kunisada’s print from 08/1856, featuring the same characters: The Syllable Ma（ま）as in Masakado (まさかど): Iwai Kumesaburō III (岩井粂三郎) as Takiyasha-hime (瀧夜叉姫) and Nakamura Fukusuke I (初代中村福助ヵ) as Ōtaku Tarō (大屋太郎) from the series Seven Calligraphic Models for Each Character in the Kana Syllabary (Seisho nanatsu iroha – 清書七伊呂波) – from Lyon Collection.