Ichikawa Danjuro IX as Benkei in the Play Kanjincho (The Subscription List)
1890
Woodblock Print
14.50 x 29.25 in (36.83 x 74.30 cm)
415365
Publisher Akiyama Buemon
Fine impression, color and condition. Fine use of gold metallics.
The play Kanjinchô (The Subscription Record) was brought to its present form and popularity by the actor portrayed in this print, Ichikawa Danjûrô IX (1839-1903), who was one of the key figures in the move to modernize Kabuki performance in the Meiji era (1868-1911). Like the actor Onoe Kikugorô, who appeared in a print of similar format issued in the same year, Danjûrô was a friend of Yoshitoshi. This print was published in advance of the performance of Kanjinchô at the Shintomi Theatre in Edo from the 22nd of the fifth month of 1890.
The plot is taken from an episode in the life of Minamoto no Yoshitsune and his loyal follower, the warrior-priest Musashibô Benkei at the end of the 12th century. Their story was told in the Heike Monogatari (Tale of the Heike) and the Gikeiki (Story of Yoshitsune), and retold many times in plays and prints.
To escape capture, Yoshitsune and his followers disguise themselves as itinerant priests raising funds for a temple. When they reach the government barrier at Ataka, the suspicious warden demands that Benkei reads the list of donors on the subscription record. Benkei takes out an empty scroll and recites an imaginary list of donors and amounts. The warden is taken in by this ruse, and he allows the party through the barrier. In Yoshitoshi’s print, Benkei is about to unroll the scroll, which he holds in his hand. It is a critical moment of dramatic tension.
The poem by Yoshitoshi’s friend Katsurakuen Keika (1829-99) reads:
‘The flowers and their fragrance like traveller’s robes are wet with dew’ (Hana mo ka mo tsuyukeki mono yo tabigoromo). It is sealed with the poet’s personal motto: ‘Humanity – all things’ (Ningen banji).
In 1890, at the end of his career, Yoshitoshi made five such large-scale half-length portraits of famous Kabuki actors in triptych format; they are generally considered among his masterpieces. This print forms a pair with another published in 01/1890, showing Yoshitoshi’s other great actor friend, Onoe Kikugorô V, in a role from a different play performed in 04/1890.
Three Great actors in the Play “Shobu Awase Adauchi Kodan”
1862
Woodblock Print
14.25 x 29.25 in (36.20 x 74.30 cm)
415342
Published by Kaku-kin
Fine impression, color and condition.
R. Nakamura Shikan IV as Magoshichi, C. Kawarasaki Gonjuro I as Taheiji, and L. Iwai Kumasaburo as Oyone.
Gonjuro was the early stage name of Ichikawa Danjuro IX and Iwai Kumasaburo was early stage name of Hanshiro VII.
Rare early triptych.
Keyes only catalogues the center sheet as #79. Another copy exhibited in the Ed Freis collection of Yoshitoshi prints in Leiden at the Siebold Museum at the Yoshitoshi Conference in 2011.
#45 Hazy Night Moon
1887
14.37 x 9.75 in (36.50 x 24.76 cm)
415296
Series: 100 Views of the Moon
Publisher: Akiyama Buemon
Fine impression, color and condition. Original album backing.
A Noh actor, carrying a spear, playing the role of the robber Kumasaka no Chohan. Kumasaka was killed in 1174 when his gang attacked a young Minamoto no Yoshitsune at Akasaka.
We have just posted 45 new works on our website, including interesting and unusual Yoshitoshi and Kuniyoshi designs, Kiyochika prints including landscapes and triptychs, an uncommon 19th c. ten sheet print depicting Hokkaido, and impressive prints by Surimono and Hiroshige!
To view these fantastic prints and more, click here.
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