Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786–1865). Signed: 五渡亭国貞画 (Gototei Kunisada ga) Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. c. 1820–1850) Date-Aratame Seal: 辰改 (Tenpō 2 [1831], 3rd month) Media: Aiban yoko-e uchiwa-e (団扇絵), color woodblock print, 225 × 266 mm

Actors and Roles:

• Bandō Mitsugorō III [三代目 坂東 三津五郎] (Japanese, 1775–1831); other names: Bandō Minosuke I, Morita Kanjirō II, Bandō Mitahachi I, Bandō Minosuke I, Bandō Mitahachi I.
  • Played Nowaki-hime no Yūkon (野分姫のゆうこん), disguised as a Shinobu seller (しのふ売り), performing a shosagoto (tari shosagoto, たり所作事).
• Seki Sanjūrō II [関三十郎] (Japanese, 1786–1839); other names: Seki Utasuke I, Nakamura Utasuke, Arashi Sōtarō.
  • Played Watashimori (ferryman) Jinzō (渡し守甚三), also referred to as Dōguya Jinzō (道具屋甚三), a merchant.

Play: Somewake te Shinobu no Irozashi (染分忍彩色) Theatre: Ichimura-za, Edo, 3rd month of 1831 Full-length view of Seki Sanjūrō II as Watashimori Jinzō, standing under a weeping willow inside a boat or ferry, holding a wooden ladle in his right hand. He wears a checkered kimono with alternating olive and white squares, symbolizing the divining rod (sangi, 三木). His inner kimono is blue with stylized pine motifs; over this, he wears a haori decorated with shippo (七宝) and pines. A long wooden oar reinforces his role as a ferryman. Reeds growing near the riverbank and mooring stakes (kui, 杭) suggest a ferry dock or landing point. In the upper right, within a cloud-shaped inset, Bandō Mitsugorō III, as Nowaki-hime no Yūkon, is depicted in disguise as a Shinobu seller, carrying a basket filled with dyed textiles on her head. She is not physically present but rather an imagined or longed-for figure in Jinzō’s thoughts. She wears a blue and beige checked kimono with a black obi, evoking the image of a noblewoman travelling in disguise. Reference images from 阪急文化アーカイブ (HANKYU CULTURE ARCHIVE): We examined multiple documents from the Waseda University database, specifically related to the kabuki program at Ichimura-za in Edo on March 22, 1831 (Tenpō 2, 3rd month):

1. Tsuji banzuke (辻番付, street playbill) – A printed advertisement listing the plays and performers.
2. Yakuwari-bon (役割本, role listing) – A document detailing actor-role assignments.
3. Illustrated playbill pages – Containing scenes from the performances.
4. Crest record (kamon, 家紋) – Indicating actor affiliations.

Performance Overview

• Theater: Ichimura-za, Edo
• Date: March 22, 1831 (Tenpō 2, 3rd month)
• Plays Performed:
  1. 楼門五山桐 (Rōmon Gojō no Kiri) – A historical drama (jidaimono), possibly the first-ranking large performance (ichibanme ōdai, 一番目大切).
  2. 鐘渕劇場故 (Kanegafuchi Shibai no Furugoto) – Likely a domestic drama (sewamono) forming the middle section of the program.
  3. 染分忍彩色 (Somewake te Shinobu no Irozashi) – A second-ranking large performance (nibanme ōdai, 二番目大切), potentially a concluding dance (shosagoto, 所作事).

The print commemorates a performance in the third month of 1831, one of the last appearances of Bandō Mitsugorō III before his death later that year.

Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Kunisada ga [国貞画] in a red double-gourd cartouche. Publisher: Iseya Sōemon [伊勢屋惣右衛門] (Japanese, c. 1776 – 1862). Date seal and kiwame censor seal: 1840 (Tenpō 11). Media: Untrimmed fan print (uchiwa-e), 227 x 293 mm. Title: Benzaiten Shrine at Honjō Block One [ひとつ目乃弁天] (Hitotsume no Benten). Provenance: The Collection of Paul F. Walter, Christie's, New York, 2017, lot 341; sold together with 5 other fan prints for $25,000. Before: Christie's, New York, 1997, lot 93 ($5,520). Ref: [LIB-1693.2018] The Collection of Paul Walter. — NY: Christie's, 2017, p. 363. Ref: Israel Goldman, Catalogue 2018, № 31: "Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) A Woman Reading a Letter by the Light of a Lantern. Hitotsume no Benten (One-eyed Benten). 1840. Fan print. Provenance: Japanese Prints, Paintings and Screens, Christie's, New York, 1997, lot 93 ($5,520), The Collection of Paul F. Walter, Christie's, New York, 2017, lot 341. Fine impression and colour. Expertly restored wormholes in the lower margin." Markus Sesko comment regarding the series title: "Some time between in the latter half of the 17th century, blind acupuncturist Sugiyama Waichi (1614–1694) cured a neurotic disease afflicting Shōgun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. Tsunayoshi asked Sugiyama what he would like as a reward, he answered that all that he would really desire was just one functioning eye. Now here we arrive at a wordplay. “One eye,” as you know, is Hitotsu-me in Japanese. As Tsunayoshi obviously could not reward Sugiyama with an eye, he gave him the entire first block of the Honjō neighbourhood in Edo, measuring about 1.2 ha. So, Honjō Block One is Honjō Hitotsu-me in Japanese as me not only means “eye,” but also “number.” Sugiyama moved there, but as he was praying to Benzaiten enshrined in the Enoshima-jinja southwest of Kamakura, Tsunayoshi gave Sugiyama permission to erect a small shrine on his new premises that was then dedicated to Benzaiten as well. To spare the old blind man the long trip so to speak. This shrine was named Honjō Hitotsu-me Benzaiten Shrine, short Hitotsu-me Benten, meaning the “Benzaiten Shrine at Honjō Block One.” That is, the label in the print refers to this context, i.e., location, not to a one-eyed Benzaiten. Sugiyama also had some rock formations of the “original” Benzaiten Shrine at Enoshima copied at his place, which was named Iwaya (い王や) (see picture attached). The lantern the woman is holding in the print is inscribed “Imuya” (い無や). Usually, the character mu (無) is not read wa in replacing a syllable, so maybe Imuya can be attributed to artistic freedom on part of Utagawa Kunisada, referring to the local Iwaya garden?"

Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (歌川国貞) (1786–1865) Signed: 豊国画 (Toyokuni ga) in a red toshidama cartouche Publisher: Iseya Sōemon (伊勢屋惣右衛門), Marks reference 19-047 | 156d, seal Hanmoto, Ue (板元, 上) Censor Seal: Double nanushi (Watanabe & Kunigasa) Date: Kaei 2-3 (1849–1850), based on censor seals. Media: Uchiwa-e (fan print), color woodblock print, 230 × 297 mm

An elegant moonlit conversation unfolds between a man and woman beneath blossoming cherry branches. The full moon and falling petals create a romantic yet fleeting atmosphere, reminiscent of courtly themes in The Tale of Genji (源氏物語).

The woman on the left wears a multi-layered kimono featuring pinwheel floral motifs and geometric patterns in red, blue, and gold. She lifts a hairpin (kanzashi, 簪) to adjust her hair, suggesting modesty, refinement, or quiet engagement in conversation.

The man on the right wears a dark purple haori (羽織, outer robe) adorned with gentian (rindō, 竜胆) mon, a crest associated with nobility and refinement. His red and white obi features Genji-mon, further reinforcing the aesthetic and symbolic ties to Genji Monogatari.

The gentian mon and purple hues evoke Heian-era literary aesthetics, aligning with Genji Monogatari's visual traditions. Though the characters in this fan print are not explicitly named, the composition closely resembles the scene "At moon-viewing night, Genji visits Yūgao," presented below.

Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞]; a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a yellow toshidama cartouche. Publisher: Unknown, seal [久] Kyū (Japanese, fl. c. 1851 – 1861); (Marks 07-023 | U176a, possibly Sagamia Kyūzō). Date seal and double nanushi censor seals: Fuku & Muramatsu, Kaei 6, 2^nd month (2/1853). Inscription in a red cartouche: (Purple of Edo // Purple of the Bay Capital) [江都むらさき] (Edo Murasaki), alluding to Murasaki Shikibu [紫 式部] (Japanese, c. 973/8 – c. 1014/31), the author of Genji Monogatari [源氏物語] (The Tale of Genji), a Heian period novel which was the source of a parody Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji [偐紫田舎源氏] (Fake Murasaki’s Rustic Genji) by Ryutei Tanehiko [柳亭種彦] (Japanese, 1783 – 1842). According to Horst Graebner: The actor is most probably Onoe Baikō IV [四代目尾上菊五郞] Onoe Kikugorō IV [四代目 尾上菊五郎] (Japanese, 1808 – 1860); other names: Onoe Baikō IV, Onoe Eizaburō III, Onoe Kikue, Nakamura Tatsuzō, Nakamura Kachō. One of the series of Kunisada's fan prints in this collection:

SVJP-0293.2019

SVJP-0294.2019

SVJP-0295.2019

SVJP-0231.2018

Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞], a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代 歌川 豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: ōju Kōchōrō Kunisada ga (應需香蝶楼國貞画)

Date: no date seal, no censor seal.

Publisher: Jōshūya Jūzō [上州屋重蔵] (Japanese, 1812 – 1876); seal jū (重)  under roof; Marks 01-065 | 191a; Seal name: Jōjū (上重)

Media: Aiban yoko-e uchiwa-e (団扇絵), color woodblock print, 227 x 297 mm.

A half-length portrait of a woman in a three-quarter view facing right. She holds a glass vessel with water and a goldfish in her left hand, while her right hand delicately grasps a small black folding fan with a red circle, possibly symbolizing the sun (日, hi). Her black hair is arranged in an elaborate updo, adorned with a red fabric bow and hairpins. She wears a layered kimono of blue gradient fabric with floral motifs, a red under-kimono (襦袢, juban) with white plum blossoms (梅, ume) on the collar and a hemp leaf motif (麻の葉, asanoha) on the sleeves, and a black obi with red lining, decorated with peonies (牡丹, botan). To the left, wisteria flowers (藤, fuji) and umbrellas (傘, kasa) hang above a ritual display stand (祭壇, saitan), which holds a miniature portable shrine (神輿, mikoshi) and a tengu Noh mask (天狗能面, tengu nōmen). The artist's signature is in the lower right, and the publisher's seal appears in the lower left quadrant. The title in the upper right corner reads: "Flower-Comparing Contest, Artificial Flower Making at the Festival" (Hanakura Sairei no Zōka - 花競 祭礼乃造花).