Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III). Kabuki Actor Ichikawa Danzō V Evoking the Poet Fun'ya Yasuhide, from the series ‘Tōsei rokkasen’ / Fan print, 1833.

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

Signature: Kunisada ga [国貞画] in a red double-gourd cartouche.

Publisher:  Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. c. 1815 – 1869); seal: san (三) in a circle to verso.

Date seal: Year of the Snake (巳, mi), Tenpō 4 , 1833, to verso.

Censor seal: kiwame (極, approved), to verso.

Media: Double-side fan print (uchiwa-e); 225 x 292 mm.

Series: Tosei rok’kasen or Tosei rokkasen [當世六花撰]  – two translations: (1) by Sebastian Izzard: Six choice modern flowers, (2) by Horst Graebner: Modern Six [Immortal] Poets.

Character: Ichikawa Danzō V [市川団蔵] (Japanese, 1788 – 1845); Ichikawa Shikō I, Ichikawa Danzaburō IV, Ichikawa Danjirō I, Ichikawa Morinosuke I.

Poet: Fun'ya/Bunya Yasuhide [文屋康秀] (Japanese, ? – c.885) – one of Six Immortal Poets (六歌仙, rokkasen)

A double-sheet uncut fan print with a half-length, three-quarter view, turned to the right, portrait of kabuki actor Ichikawa Danzō V holding a sensu (扇子, folding fan) with a yellow and red design in his right hand, gripping it close to his chest. He wears a blue kimono with circular floral motifs and a white undergarment with a purple geometric pattern; a white hexagonal crest with three stripes is visible on his sleeve. A red scroll with an inscription is hanging behind him. The inscription on a red background reads: Fun'ya (or Bunya) Yasuhide (文屋康秀). Ichikawa Danzō V (市川団蔵) is written with hentaigana and hiragana as Mikawaya Shikō (みかわやしこう), the guild and poetry names of Danzō. The series title Tōsei Rokkasen (当世六歌撰) appears in the red cartouche to the left, and the artist's signature is in the double-gourd red cartouche to the right. The background features a green and purple gradient decorated with floral roundels.

The reverse side features a decorative design with floral roundels in blue and green. A paper slip (tanzaku, 短冊) with a red cloud-like gradient at the edges is positioned diagonally across the composition. The slip contains a calligraphic inscription in cursive script. Three standard seals, publisher, approval, and date, are in the bottom right quadrant of the print.

Ref: (1) [LIB-2967.2022] Utagawa Kunisada (1786 – 1865): His world revisited / Catalogue № 17, Exhibition March 17-21, 2021. — NY: Sebastian Izzard, LLC., 2021; p. 130-1. (2) [LIB-1212.2017] Robert Schaap. Kunisada: Imaging, drama and beauty. — Leiden: Hotei Publishing, 2016, p. 58.

[With tremendous help from Horst Graebner of Kunisada Project].

Bandō Mitsugorō IV — Sōjō Henjō	Nakamura Shikan II — Kisen Hōshi	Ichikawa Danzō V — Fun’ya Yasuhide	Sawamura Tosshō I — Ariwara Narihira	Ichikawa Danjūrō VII — Ōtomo Kuronushi