Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III). Kabuki Actor Sawamura Tosshō I Evoking the Poet Ariwara Narihira, 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 283 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: Sawamura Tosshō I [沢村訥升] (Japanese, 1802 – 1853); other names: Sawamura Gennosuke II, Suketakaya Takasuke III, Sawamura Chōjūrō V, Sawamura Sōjūrō V, Sawamura Genpei I, Sawamura Tosshi V; Poetry names: Kōga, Tosshi V, Tosshō; Guild: Kinokuniya.

Poet: Ariwara Narihira [在原業平] (Japanese, 825 – 9 July 880) – one of Six Immortal Poets (六歌仙, rokkasen)

A double-sheet uncut fan print featuring a half-length, three-quarter view, turned to the right portrait of Kabuki actor Sawamura Tosshō I. He holds a bow (yumi, 弓) and an arrow (ya, 矢) in his left hand, while his right hand grasps the collar of his under-kimono, with his thumb tucked inside. He wears a blue outer kimono patterned with a woven lattice motif, lined with red and yellow on the sleeves. Beneath it, his red under-kimono with a black collar is visible. A white towel (tenugui, 手拭い) is draped around his neck and shoulder.

A red scroll with an inscription hangs behind him, reading: Ariwara Narihira (在原業平); Sawamura Tosshō I (沢村訥升). His name is written with kanji, hentaigana, and hiragana: Kinokuniya Tosshō (きの國やとつ志ょう)—his guild and poetry names. 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 blue and yellow 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. It 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