Utagawa Toyokuni I. Kabuki actor Segawa Kikunojō V as Kurenaiya Okan / Fan print, 1819.

Artist: Utagawa Toyokuni I [初代豊国] (Japanese, 1769–1825)
Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国画].
Publisher: Iseya Sōemon [伊勢屋惣右衛門] (c. 1776 – November 1862); Marks 02-041 | 156a
Date-Aratame Seal: 1819 (Bunsei 2, 文政二年)
Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e), 221 × 253 mm
Genre: Yakusha-e, 役者絵);
Play: Ume Yanagi Wakaba no Kagazome (梅柳若葉加賀染)
Theater: Tamagawa-za (玉川座), Edo, May 1819

Actor: Segawa Kikunojō V [瀬川菊之丞] (Japanese, 1802–1832); Other name: Segawa Tamon I (瀬川多聞初代)

Role: Kurenaiya Okan (紅屋おかん)

Bust-length, three-quarter-view portrait of Segawa Kikunojō V as Kurenaiya Okan in the play Ume Yanagi Wakaba no Kagazome, staged at Tamagawa-za in May 1819. The male actor Segawa Kikunojō V performs an onnagata role, portraying a courtesan. She is depicted adjusting her elaborate shimadamage-style coiffure, fixing a kanzashi (簪, hairpin) while holding onkotogami (御懲紙, tissue paper) in her mouth. The onkotogami was traditionally used for intimate hygiene, suggesting that the scene represents a moment after encountering a client.

Her inner kimono is safflower-dyed and has a hemp leaf pattern (麻の葉, asa no ha). The top half of the background features a giant golden carp (鯉, koi), a recurring motif in this pair of prints often associated with strength, perseverance, and kabuki’s aragoto style.

The top half of the background features a giant golden carp (鯉, koi), a recurring motif in this series of prints, which alludes to Boys' Day (Tango no Sekku, 端午の節句), celebrated on May 5th each year. The series includes the portrait of Ichikawa Danjūrō VII as Yushima no Sankichi [SVJP-0439.2025] and Iwai Hanshirō V as Asaho [SVJP-0523.2025]. Handwritten Japanese text in cursive script (kuzushiji), written in black ink in vertical columns on the backing paper; content unidentified.