Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865).
Signed: Gototei Kunisada ga [五渡亭国貞画].
Publisher: Ibaya Kyūbei [伊場屋 久兵衛] (Japanese, 1804 – 1851); seal Marks 08-055|126a.
Date-aratame seal: Bunsei 13 / Tenpō 1 (1830).
Actor: Nakamura Utaemon IV [中村歌右衛門] (Japanese, 1796 – 1852); other names: Nakamura Shikan II [中村芝翫], Nakamura Tsurusuke I, Nakamura Tōtarō.
Play: Yoshitsune’s Letter at Koshigoe [義経腰越状] (Yoshitsune Koshigoe-jo).
Uncut fan print (uchiwa-e, 団 扇 絵) depicting kabuki actor Nakamura Shikan [中村芝翫] as Gotobei [五斗兵衛], dressed in a green kimono with hanging wisteria crest (sagari fuji mon) on the shoulder, posing behind a large saké cask. Nakamura Utaemon IV held the name of Nakamura Shikan II from the 11th lunar month of 1825 to the 1st lunar month of 1836. He was born as Hirano Kichitarō in Edo in 1796.
Another fan print with the same subject in this collection [SVJP-0349.2021]; there are also more details about the play and its heroes.
Horst Graebner also noted that the performance took place at Nakamura Theatre in Edo on Bunsei 13/03 (03/1830) (see Waseda University Cultural Resources Database # 100-4224):
Additional Information
| Collection | Japanese prints and drawings |
|---|---|
| Type / Purpose | Woodblock print |
| Period | 19 AD , Bunka–Bunsei period [文化・文政時代] (1804–1830) , Early 19th century , Edo period [江戸時代] (1603–1868) |
| Country | Japan |
| Subject | Kabuki actors |
| Media/Technique | Ink and color on paper , Woodblock print (nishiki-e) |
| Creation / Publishing year | 1818 |
| Signature | Combined date seal and kiwame censor seal , Gototei Kunisada ga [五渡亭国貞画] |
| Size | Fan print. Uchiwa-e |
| Genre | Actor Prints (Yakusha-e, 役者絵) |
| Acquisition year | 2021 |
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