Utagawa Kunisada II (Toyokuni IV). Actor Kawarasaki Gonjūrō I and a Geisha / Preparatory drawing for a fan print, c. 1870.

Artist: Utagawa Kunisada II [歌川国貞] Japanese, 1823 – 1880) a.k.a. Toyokuni IV

Signature: Toyokuni hitsu (豊國筆)

Media: Preparatory drawing (shita-e) for a fan print (uchiwa-e), brush and ink with light pigment on 'india' paper, unbacked, 252 x 310 mm

Date: c. 1870

Provenance: stamp of the Bérès Collection.

Actor: Kawarasaki Gonjūrō I [河原崎權十郎] (Japanese, 1838 – 1903); other names: Ichikawa Danjūrō IX [市川団十郎], Kawarasaki Sanshō, Kawarasaki Gonnosuke VII, Kawarasaki Chōjūrō III.

Two figures appear within a geometrically patterned background: a geisha or courtesan adjusts a hairpin while conversing with a man in plain robes, who holds a lantern inscribed 寳結 (Hōmusubi or Takaramusubi), likely a poetic or theatrical name. According to Horst Graebner, the male figure is Kawarasaki Gonjūrō I (1838–1903), identified by facial likeness, though not named on the sheet.
A red ink inscription at the upper right is treated as illegible.

Another print from this series [SVJP-0178.2014].