Artist: Utagawa Toyokuni I [歌川豊国] (1769–1825) Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] Publisher: Ibaya Kyūbei [伊場屋久兵衛] (Japanese, c. 1804-1851); seal kyū (久) in circle; Marks: 08-055 | 126a Date-aratame seal: 子改 – Year of the Rat with aratame = Bunka 13 (1816) Media: fan print (団扇絵, uchiwa-e), 229 x 267 mm Play: Ume sakura aioi zōshi (梅桜松双紙), Nakamura-za, 3/1816 Actors and Roles: Matsumoto Kōshirō V (松本幸四郎) as Matsubei (松兵衛) Nakamura Matsue III (中村松江) as Chiyo (ちよ), Matsubei's wife Bandō Mitsugorō III (坂東三津五郎) as Umeroku (梅六), a fisherman from Chikushi.

The scene depicts a moment from the play Ume sakura aioi zōshi (梅桜松双紙), with Chiyo, Matsubei, and Umeroku confronting an unseen opponent. The three figures are positioned against a backdrop of rushing water and a large waterwheel, indicating a setting near a river. Chiyo, at the front, wears a brown kimono with pine needle motifs, a black obi, and red underlayers visible at the sleeves and hem. Her hair is arranged formally, and her arms are extended forward. Matsubei and Umeroku, standing behind her, wear checkered (plaid) kimonos in brown and beige tones with black borders, tied with wide yellow sashes. Matsubei wears a haori (羽織). Both men hold long wooden oars crossed in an X-shape.

Toyokuni depicts the same actors in the same performance in a series of ōban-size prints (images from Waseda University Cultural Resources Database)

Artist: Utagawa Toyokuni I [初代豊国] (Japanese, 1769–1825)

Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国画]

Publisher: Kojimaya Jūbei [小嶋屋重兵衛] (Japanese, c. 1797–1869); seal [十]; Marks 06-014 | 264a

Date-Aratame Seal: 1822 (Bunsei 5, 文政五年)

Media: Print (Uchiwa-e, うちわ絵, fan print); 223 × 250 mm

Actor: Onoe Kikugorō III [三代目 尾上菊五郎] (Japanese, 1784–1849); other names: Onoe Baikō III (尾上梅幸), Ōkawa Hashizō I (大川橋蔵初代), Onoe Matsusuke II (二代目尾上松助), Onoe Eizaburō I (初代尾上栄三郎)

Half-length, three-quarter-view portrait of Onoe Kikugorō III, depicted without stage makeup. The actor wears a kimono patterned with plum blossoms (梅, ume), symbolising perseverance and longevity. A neck scarf with a 格子 (kōshi) pattern is visible, and he holds a folding fan (扇, ōgi) decorated with chrysanthemums (菊, kiku).

Above his head is the Onoe family crest (mon), embracing oak leaves on layered fans. This emblem, known as the crest of the Otowaya line, commemorates a shogunal gift of rice cakes wrapped in oak leaves, placed on a fan, and presented to Onoe Kikugorō I.

The background features a radiating red-line pattern, possibly representing the bamboo structure of an uchiwa fan. The absence of kumadori (歌舞伎隈取, kabuki makeup) suggests that the actor is not portrayed in a specific role.

In 1822, Onoe Kikugorō III performed at Kawarazaki-za before month 11 and at Ichimura-za and Nakamura-za afterwards.

The print has been backed for preservation with a sheet of paper featuring calligraphy, likely contemporary to the print itself. The backing paper appears to have been repurposed, a common historical practice in the Edo period, where discarded documents or manuscripts were reused to reinforce delicate prints.

Kunisada portrayed the same actor in 1815 as Rokusaburō, the Carpenter (Daiku Rokusaburō).

Utagawa Toyokuni (歌川豐國); 1769 – 24 February 1825. The actor Nakamura Utaemon as Ishikawa Goemon. Circa 1810. Size/Format: Oban, 9.75 by 14.5 inches

Artist: Utagawa Toyokuni I [歌川豊国] (1769–1825). Pubisher: Enshūya Matabei (遠州屋又兵衛) (c. 1768 – 1881), seal name: Enmata [ 遠又]. Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国画]. Date-aratame censor seal: 未改, Bunsei 6 (1823). Size: uchiwa-e; 233 x 262 mm. Ref: Israel Goldman. Japanese Prints, Paintings and Books / Catalogue 28, 2022: № 14.

Artist: Utagawa Toyokuni II [歌川豊国二代] a.k.a. Toyoshige [豊重] (Japanese, (1777 – 1835) Signed: 豊国狂筆 (Toyokuni kyō-hitsu, "mad brush of Toyokuni") Publisher: Maru-Jū (丸重), seal Jū (重), Marks reference 08-079 | U190a (1826–1829, only on fan prints) Censor Seal: Kiwame + Bunsei 12, Year of the Ox (丑), 1829 Media: Uchiwa-e (fan print), color woodblock print, 231 x 297 mm Provenance: Nelkin Collection Full-body, frontal view of Ichikawa Danjūrō VII, abstractly depicted as a bat, with only his head, topknot, and white collar emerging from the upper centre of a voluminous, stylized red cloak. The cloak is sharply angular and wing-shaped, evoking a bat in flight, while also suggesting the kanji character 市 (ichi) — the first character of Ichikawa (市川) — making the figure a visual pun on the actor’s name. The cloak is rendered in a saturated reddish-brown colour known as shū-iro (赭色) or tan-red, a bold and dramatic hue traditionally associated with the Shibaraku role. This distinctive costume — known as the sugata no iro (姿の色) — was used to signal heroic power, dominance, and theatrical presence. The white stripes across the cloak allude to the Ichikawa family crest (三升, mitsumasu) — three nested rice-measuring boxes — an emblem long associated with the Danjūrō lineage. Tucked at the waist and partially emerging from beneath the cloak is a massive stylized sword — a visual exaggeration of the ōdachi (大太刀) worn in the Shibaraku role. Such a sword is not functional but a key prop in aragoto-style performance, symbolizing exaggerated strength and heroic resolve. Danjūrō’s face is adorned with the iconic kumadori (隈取) makeup — deep red lines accentuating his brow and cheeks — a hallmark of aragoto roles and especially of Shibaraku, where the protagonist enters with a thunderous call and righteous fury. To the upper right is the signature 豊国狂筆 (Toyokuni kyō-hitsu) – "the mad brush of Toyokuni", used here by Utagawa Toyokuni II. The kiwame (極) censorship seal and a date seal appear in the lower right. To the left is a vertical kyōka poem, followed by the actor’s name and a red double gourd (ひさご, hisago) — another signature emblem of Danjūrō VII. This print is not a literal depiction of a scene from Shibaraku but a bold emblematic portrait, condensing multiple aspects of Danjūrō VII’s iconic identity: his name, crest, theatrical role, and stage persona — all rendered in a single symbolic form.

Artist: Utagawa Yoshitsuya [歌川 芳艶] (Japanese, 1822 – 1866). Publisher: Kojimaya Jūbei [小島屋重兵衛] (Japanese, c. 1797 – 1869). Date seal and double nanushi censor seals: Kunigasa & Yoshimura, Kōka 5 (1849). Signed: Ichieisai Yoshitsuya ga [英斎芳艶画] in a red double gourd cartouche. Two men are fishing with a net off the coast of Shinagawa, in the Edo Bay.