Onoe Kikugorō V as Seishin from the series One Hundred Roles of Baikō

Japanese Color Woodblock Print

Onoe Kikugorō V as Seishin

from the series One Hundred Roles of Baikō

by Toyohara Kunichika, 1893

Ichikawa Danjūrō IX as Mongaku Shonin from the series One Hundred Roles of Ichikawa Danjuro


IHL Cat. #2157

About This Print

The actors Onoe Kikugorō V as the priest Seishin and, in the inset, Iwai Hanshirō VIII as the geisha Izayoi, in the play Kosode Soga Azami no Ironui.

The most performed act of the play Kosode Soga Azami no Ironui, also known as Izayoi Seishin, tells the story of the young priest, Seishin and his love affair with the geisha, Izayhoi, their unsuccessful suicide and the robbery murder of the young page Motome by Seishin.1
 
For profiles of Onoe Kikugorō V and Iwai Hanshirō VIII please see the article The Kabuki Actor.


The Series "One Hundred Roles of Baikō"
Source: Time Present and Time Past: Images of a Forgotten Master: Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900), Amy Reigle Newland, Hotei Publishing, 1999, p. 26, 27.

In 1893 Kunichika undertook a commission for two series of single-sheet portraits, each dedicated to the two most famous actors of their time, Ichikawa Danjūrō IX (1838-1903) and Onoe Kikugorō V (1844-1903).  The first of these, One hundred roles of Danjūrō, featured the major roles of Ichikawa Danjūrō IX in a set of half-length portraits.  (See print IHL Cat. #s 663, 689 and 701.) The second, One hundred roles of Baikō, featured the major roles of Onoe Kikugorō V and included an insert on the top of the print depicting a supporting actor.  Both the series were commissioned by Fukuda Kumajirō and Gusokuya Kahei. These two series are regarded as ‘monuments to his [Kunichika’s] career’.

The name "Baikō" in the series title was the haiku pen name of Onoe Kikugorō V and Kunichika was on friendly terms with him, often drinking tea and chatting backstage. 

Print Details

 IHL Catalog #2157
 Title (Description)Onoe Kikugorō V as Seishin and Iwai Hanshirō VIII as the geisha Izayoi [inset] in the play Kosode Soga Azami no Ironui
せいしん 魚屋宗五郎・十六夜 岩井半四郎・小袖曽我薊色縫
 Series One Hundred Roles of Baikō 梅幸百種之内 Baikō hyakushu no uchi
 Artist Toyohara Kunichika (1835–1900)
 Signature
豊原国周筆 Toyohara Kunichika hitsu
 Seal Toshidama seal 年玉印 [see above]
 Publication Date
明治廿六年 月 日印刷 仝月 日発行.
printed and published 1893
 Publisher
Fukuda Kumajirō
right (printer and publisher): 印刷兼発行者

center (publisher's address): 東京日本橋区長谷川町十九番地
19 banchi Hasegawa-chō, Nihonbashi-ku, Tokyo

left (publisher's name and seal): 福田熊次郎 人形丁 具足屋 板
Fukuda Kumajirō Ningyōchō Gusokuya, han 
[Marks: pub. ref. 071; seal ref. 26-075]


 Carver
Nisei Hori Ei 二卋 彫栄
 Impression excellent
 Colors excellent
 Condition good - light soiling throughout, left margin partially trimmed; backed
 Genre ukiyo-e; yakusha-e
 Miscellaneous
print number 四十 40 in the series

 Format vertical ōban
 H x W Paper 
 14 3/8 x 9 5/8 in. (36.5 x 24.4 cm)
 H x W Image
 13 1/2 x 9 1/16 in. (34.3 x 23 cm)
 Literature 

 Collections This Print
 Waseda University Cultural Resource Database 406-0009;  Tokyo Metropolitan Library 加5968(81)/加05968(081); Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art S2003.8.2705
last update:
4/17/2021 created