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: 1834 — date aratame seal: 午改 – Year of the Horse, Tenpō 5.
Media: Aiban yoko-e uchiwa-e (団扇絵), color woodblock print, 235 x 263 mm.
Play: Chūshingura, Act VI (Chūshingura, rokudanme, 忠臣蔵 六段目)
Actors and Roles:
Ichikawa Komazō V [市川高麗蔵] (Japanese, 1812 – 1849); other names: Matsumoto Kinshō I, Matsumoto Kōshirō VI, Matsumoto Kinshi.
Role: Hayano Kanpei (早野勘平)
Segawa Tamon II [瀬川多門)] (Japanese, 1815-1857); other names: Nakamura Daikichi III, Nakamura Matsue 4.5, Sawamura Kitō, Nakamura Keishi, Nakamura Naruo.
Role: Okaru (おかる), Kanpei’s wife or lover
This print depicts a dramatic moment from Chūshingura, Act VI, where Kanpei and Okaru are living in seclusion at the home of Okaru’s parents in the countryside. Kanpei, wearing a plaid kimono (格子, kōshi pattern) with a yellow sash, sits cross-armed, gazing at his lover with a tense expression. Okaru, dressed in a blue kimono adorned with butterflies and a diaper motif, with black and red accents, leans toward Kanpei in a pleading gesture. The background landscape, enclosed within a decorative cloud frame, suggests a possible mitate (thematic reinterpretation) of the scene. We were unable to confirm these actors in these roles in either 1834 or 1833. The red cartouche on the right reads 忠臣蔵 六段目 (Chūshingura, Act VI).
