Katsukawa Shun’en. Kabuki Actors: Sawamura Sōjūrō and Two Others / Fan print, c. 1794–95.

Artist: Katsukawa Shun’en [勝川 春艶] (Japanese, active 1780–1800)
Signed: 勝川春艶画 (Katsukawa Shun’en ga)
Publisher: Kanō-Chū [加納忠] (Japanese, active 1790–1794); seal: Marks U119/01-050
Date: 1794–1795 (Kansei 6–7)
Media: Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; uchiwa-e (fan print), 22.9 × 24.4 cm (9 × 9 5/8 in)
Title: Three Actors
Provenance: Nelkin Collection (Ruth Nelkin, 1927–2022)

An uchiwa-e fan print in the ōkubi-e (大首絵) format, depicting a tightly framed group portrait of three kabuki actors in close-up head views. At left, an actor wearing a robe with a stylized falcon crest (taka-mon, 鷹紋) holds a folded fan and looks toward the center. Above him, a second actor glances outward, holding an open folding fan in his right hand; his sleeve bears a half-chrysanthemum crest associated with the Sawamura Sōjūrō lineage. To the right, a third actor in a padded cap and formal costume faces forward, his eyebrows drawn in the aragoto style. He holds a pipe (kiseru, 煙管) in his right hand. His costume also features the same Sawamura crest, suggesting a familial or theatrical link with the upper figure.

The central figure has been recognized as Sawamura Sōjūrō III [三代目 沢村 宗十郎] (Japanese, 1753–1801). The remaining two need to be attributed.

The artist’s signature, 勝川春艶画 (Katsukawa Shun’en ga), appears vertically at upper left, alongside the publisher’s seal of Kanō-Chū (Marks U119/01-050).