Utagawa Kunisada III (Kunimasa IV, Hosai)

1848-1920

Kabuki-za Program for March Performances: Actor Ichikawa Somegoro as Gosho no Goromaru & Actor Ichikawa Danjuro IV as Soga no Goro
(Kabukiza sangatsu kyogen: Gosho no Goromaru, Ichikawa Somegoro, Soga no Goro, Ichikawa Danjuro)

signed Hosai hitsu with artist's red Toshidama seal, in the lower left corner of the left sheet, the block carver's seal Nisei Watanabe Hori Ei (Watanabe Hriei II), publisher's seal Ningyocho Gusokuya Han, Fukuda Kumajiro publisher seal dated Meiji sanjusan-nen ni-gatsu (Meiji 33 [1901] February)

oban tate-e triptych 14 by 27 3/4 in., 35.5 by 70.5 cm

On the right sheet, actor Ichikawa Somegoro VII (Matsumoto Koshiro VII, 1870-1949) is in the role of Gosho no Goromaru. On the left sheet, actor Ichikawa Danjuro IX (1838-1903) is in the role of Soga no Goro.

This composition is based on an earlier triptych designed by Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900) and produced by the same publisher, Fukuda Kumajiro, depicting the actors Ichikawa Yonezo as Gosho Goromaru and Actor Ichikawa Sadanji I as Soga no Goro Tokimune in a scene from the play Juni-toki kaikei Soga performed at the Kabukiza in May 1893. Apparently Kumajiro was able to economize and reuse most of the color blocks to depict different actors in the same roles eight years later by altering the faces slightly and replacing their names, the artist's signature cartouche, and the date in the publisher's cartouche.

Reference:
The British Museum, accession no. 1993,1109,0.1.JA (Kunichika version)

(inv. no. 10-5816)

price: $1,600