About This Print
One of 30 prints (including 2 cover prints and 2 frontispieces) designed by Natori Shunsen that appeared in the magazine Shin Nigao, whose purpose was to advertise the Kabuki theater and renew interest in actor prints. This print appeared in issue #5, the last issue of the magazine published in November 1915. Pictured is Onoe Taminosuke (later to take the name Onoe Tamizō III in February 1918) portraying Otsuma, the tragic woman lover figure, in the play Sakuratsuba Urami no Samezaya (commonly called Unagidani or Otsuma Hachirobei) performed at the Kabuki-za.
For more information on this short-lived magazine whose purpose was to advertise the Kabuki theater and renew interest in actor prints, see the article Shin Nigao Magazine.
The Actor in the Print - Onoe Taminosuke (1870-1934)
Stage names: Onoe Tamizō III; Onoe Taminosuke; Bandō Tsurunosuke
Real name: Yoshikawa Tsurunosuke
Onoe Taminosuke III was a popular actor in Kamigata, able to play both tachiyaku and onnagata roles. His forte were budōgoto and jitsugotoshi roles in jidaimono dramas.
The Play Sakuratusba Urami no Samezaya
Source: Kabuki Encyclopedia, An English-Language Adaption of Kabuki Jiten, Samuel L. Leiter, Greenwood Press, 1979, p. 323.
Hachirobei, a dealer in secondhand goods, is having trouble raising the money that he needs to help his master's daughter. His wife, Otsuma, who knows of his difficulties, devises a plan with her mother by which Otsuma gives herself to the evil Yohee to raise the money. Against her wishes she must castigate Hachirobei, whom she really loves. Taking her remarks for the truth, Hachirobei kills both Otsuma and her mother. Later, when he learns the true facts, he commits ritual suicide.
Natori Shunsen Catalogue Raisonné Entry
Catalogue Raisonné – Ukiyoe Kabuki Gi Han Ga: Shunsen Natori
(The Skill of Natori Shunsen in Kabuki Prints),
Kushigata Municipal Shunsen Museum
Kushigata, Japan; 1991, p.96, pl. 191.
Kushigata, Japan; 1991, p.96, pl. 191.
Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #469 | ||
| Title (Description) | [Onoe] Taminosuke in the role of Ostuma [in the play Sakuratsuba Urami Samezaya] 多見之助のお妻 Taminosuke no Otsuma (as shown in the catalog raisonee) | ||
| Series | Magazine: Shin Nigao (New Portraits) volume five 新似顔 第一年五編 | ||
| Artist | Natori Shunsen (1886-1960) | ||
| Signature |  名取春仙 畫 Natori Shunsen ga printed on bottom of magazine page print was originally tipped to. | ||
| Seal | artist's flower pattern seal (as shown above) | ||
| Date | November 1915 | ||
| Edition | First and only edition printed in magazine Shin Nigao | ||
| Publisher | Nigaodō 似顔洞 | ||
| Carver and Printer | Igami Bonkotsu (1875-1933) | ||
| Impression | excellent | ||
| Colors | excellent | ||
| Condition | excellent | ||
| Miscellaneous | entry in table of contents for Issue #5 of Shin Nigao
| ||
| Genre | shin hanga (new prints); nigao-e | ||
| Format | koban | ||
| H x W Paper | 7 x 4 5/8 in. (17.8 x 11.4 cm) | ||
| Collections This Print | National Gallery of Australia NGA 2015.575; The British Museum 1991,1112,0.193.5 (entire magazine, only front cover shown); Art Research Center Ritsumeikan University BM-SJ193-05 (British Museum's copy of entire magazine with all pages shown) | ||
| Reference Literature | Catalogue Raisonné – Ukiyoe Kabuki Gi Han Ga: Shunsen Natori (TheSkill of Natori Shunsen in Kabuki Prints), Kushigata Municipal ShunsenMuseum, Kushigata, Japan, 1991, p.96 number 191. |
7/29/2020
10/16/2019
11/18/2018
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