This print features the actors Nakamura Nakazō I on the left and Nakamura Noshio I on the right. Nakamura Nakazō I impersonates Hata Rokurozaemon as the samurai manservant Igaguri Hanehei. Nakamura Noshio I is shown in the guise of the lady-in-waiting Koto no Naishi. The two actors performed these roles in the dance segment "Umbrella Sleeves: Maple Foliage Elegant Tricks" (Sodegasa Momiji no Tekud a) from the play "Taiheiki War Tale: Clamor of the Battle" (Hikitsurete Yagoe Taiheiki). The Morita Theater featured this play in the eleventh month of 1776.
Accession Number
C00.1755.031
Format
prints
Culture
Japanese (culture or style)
Genre
Figures (representations)
Origin Information
Edo (Tokyo), Japan
Date
ca. 1776
Physical Description
1 print ; sheet 12 1/2 x 8 5/8 in. (31.7 x 21.9 cm)
Note (Period)
Edo period
Note (Medium/support)
Polychrome woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Note (Inscriptions/signatures)
Middle left: Katsu Shunshō-ga.
Note (Ownership)
The Stebbins Memorial Collection
Note
Shunshō was the leading artist of the Katsukawa school and had several prominent ukiyo-e students. One of the first artists to design prints of kabuki actors in various roles, he focused on capturing a likeness of the facial features of the actors (ni se-e).