Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III). Actor Bandō Shūka I as Shirai Gonpachi, from the series 'Mitate gonin otoko go-hiiki omoizashi' / Fan print, 2/1852.

Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] (Japanese, 1786–1865), also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国]
Signed: 豊国画 (Toyokuni ga)
Publisher: Unidentified; Yama-Ta, seal: 板元, 太 (Hanmoto, Ta); Marks 19-044 | U421b
Block Carver: Yokogawa Takejirō [横川竹二郎] (Japanese, fl. c. 1845-1863), seal: hori (carver) Take (彫竹)
Date and Censor seals: Intercalary 2nd month, 1852 (Kaei 5, 子閏); Fuku (福) & Muramatsu (村松)
Media: Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and colour on paper; uncut fan print (uchiwa-e), 230 x 295 mm

Description:
The actor Bandō Shūka I is depicted in a half-length, three-quarter view, facing left, and reading an unrolled scroll by the light of a tall standing lantern (燈台, tōdai). He wears a dark purple kimono decorated with a crest bearing the 井 character in a circle, symbolizing a well frame (井桁, igeta) and representing the syllable “i”. The red cartouche in the upper right, shaped like a sakazuki — a shallow ceremonial sake cup — bears the series title, suggesting a metaphorical offering or gesture of appreciation toward the actor depicted.

Series: Mitate gonin otoko: go-hiiki omoizashi [見立五人男 御贔屓 思指] — an imagined group of five chivalrous men portrayed by leading kabuki actors. One interpretive translation of the title is A Parody of the Five Chivalrous Commoners: A Cup of Sake from Their Fans.

Note: The reading omoizashi (思指) is attested in specialist sources, including R. Kruml and Paul Griffith, though it is not a standard compound. Griffith interprets the term as referring to the act of pouring sake for one’s chosen partner, here evoking an atmosphere of intimacy and affection between celebrated actors and their patrons. The meaning remains poetically suggestive but lexically uncertain.

Actor: Bandō Shūka I [初代坂東しうか] (Japanese, 1813–1855); other names: Bandō Tamasaburō I [坂東玉三郎], posthumously Bandō Mitsugorō V [五代目坂東三津五郎]

• Role: Shirai Gonpachi [白井権八] — a recurring figure in kabuki drama, often depicted as a tragic outlaw and romantic antihero. According to Kabuki Encyclopedia, “Gonpachi. A parasite. From the character named Shirai Gonpachi who lives at the home of Banzui Chōbei and sponges off him” (Samuel L. Leiter, Kabuki Encyclopedia, Greenwood Press, 1979, pp. 26, 98–99). His love affair with the courtesan Komurasaki is dramatized in multiple plays.

See also: Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford, Tales of Old Japan (London: Macmillan and Co., 1883) [LIB-2226.2019].

Reference: Art shop Ezoshi Ukiyo-e new collection news, vol. 66 (Jan. 2023), no. 31, p. 8.

Another print from this series: SVJP-0513.2025 Actor Iwai Kumesaburō III as Obō Kichiza