Utagawa Toyokuni I. Actor Matsumoto Kōshirō V as Genkai Nadaemon, with Sparrow Dancers Played by Ogino Izaburō II and Bandō Mitsugorō III / Ōban Diptych (R), 1803.

Artist: Utagawa Toyokuni I [歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1769–1825)

Signed: Toyokuni ga (豊国画)

Publisher: Nishimuraya Yohachi (西村屋与八), firm name Eijudō (永寿堂), active c. 1751–1860. Marks 01-008 | 391a

Censor’s seal: None

Media: Vertical ōban, woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and colour on paper, 393 × 255 mm; right sheet of a diptych.

Date: 1803 (Kyōwa 3), 3rd month

Actors:
Matsumoto Kōshirō V [五代目松本幸四郎] (Japanese, 1764-1838); other names: Ichikawa Komazō III, Ichikawa Sumizō I; poetry names: Kinshō, Kinkō; guild: Kōraiya (高麗屋)

• as Genkai Nadaemon (玄海灘右衛門)

Ogino Izaburō II [荻野伊三郎] (Japanese, 1750-1829); other names: Bandō Mitsugorō II, Onoe Monzaburō I, Onoe Tōzō, Gunkō; Guild: Yamatoya

Bandō Mitsugorō III [三代目 坂東 三津五郎] (Japanese, 1775-1831); other names: Bandō Minosuke I, Morita Kanjirô II, Bandō Mitahachi I, Bandō Minosuke I, Bandō Mitahachi I.

Play: Nakazôjima Hakata Imaori — 仲蔵縞博多今織（なかぞうじまはかたのいまおり）

Teathre: Ichimura (市村座)

The right sheet of a diptych. The "Sparrow Dance" (suzume odori, 雀踊) is a traditional Japanese folk dance distinguished by lively, graceful movements that emulate sparrows' rapid, fluttering motion. Within kabuki theatre, such dances are typically performed during celebratory scenes or incorporated into festive sequences, exhibiting the performers' agility and enhancing the production's visual and rhythmic vibrancy. In the original diptych depicting this scene, additional performers—Arashi Sanpachi I (嵐三八), Onoe Eizaburō I (尾上栄三郎), Onoe Monzaburō II (尾上門三郎), and Bandō Yasosuke I (坂東八十助)—are shown; however, these figures are absent from the extant sheet in my possession.​

Reference: Boston MFA Accession Numbers 11.13707 (left), 11.13713 (right).

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