Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III). Onoe Kikugorō III as Denbei and Iwai Kumsesaburō II as Oshun / Fan Print, 1825.

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

Signed: 五渡亭国貞画 (Gototei Kunisada ga)

Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. c. 1820–1850)

Date: 1825 — date aratame seal: 酉改 – Year of the Rooster, Bunsei 8

Media: Aiban yoko-e uchiwa-e (団扇絵), color woodblock print, 230 x 270 mm

Play: Sono uwasa sakura no irodoki (其噂桜色時), Nakamura-za, 3/1825

Actors and Roles:

Onoe Kikugorō III [尾上菊五郎] (Japanese, 1784 – 1849); other names: Ōkawa Hashizō I, Onoe Baikō III, Onoe Matsusuke II, Onoe Eizaburō I.

Role: Denbei (伝兵へ)

Iwai Kumesaburō II [岩井粂三郎] (Japanese, 1799 – 1836); other names: Iwai Hanshirō VI, Iwai Hisajirō I; poetry names Baiga, Shūka.

Role: Oshun (おしゆん)

A dramatic encounter between Denbei and Oshun, set beneath a blooming cherry tree. The background features a fenced garden and a veranda, suggesting a domestic setting with a sliding fusuma (襖) screen on the right.

Denbei, dressed in a blue striped kimono adorned with cherry blossoms and chrysanthemums, sits on the floor (tatami?), gripping a length of cloth, the other end of which is held by Oshun. Oshun, wearing a plaid kimono (格子, kōshi pattern) with butterflies and a red and black obi featuring gold cloud brocade, leans forward with an assertive gesture, pulling at the cloth Denbei holds. Her hairstyle is highly ornamented with combs and pins.