About This Print
Ichikawa Danjūrō IX, in the lower left panel, playing the role of the monk Sōma Masakado 相馬将門 in the kabuki play Kamahige 鎌髯. Above him is an unidentified actor in the role of the servant Towara Tōda 俵藤太. The Ichikawa family crest (mon) of nested squares is shown to the left of Danjūrō, beneath which appears 九世市川団十郎 (9th Generation, Ichikawa Danjūrō) and the character played 相馬将門 (Sōma Masakado.)The Play Kamahige (Sickle Beard)
Source: Kabuki Eighteen Traditional Dramas, Kawatake Toshio, Chronicle Books, 1985, p. 60."It was first performed in 1774 at the Nakamura-za in edo with Ichikawa Danjūrō IV. This drama is closely associated wit the Ennosuke and Danshirō names of the Ichikawa family.
The Shogun disguised as a traveling monk [Sōma Masakado] and a warrior dressed like a servant [Towara Tōda] appear on stage. The servant holds a sickle with which he is going to shave the monk who holds a water container.
The monk tell shim that he is immortal when the servant tries cut off his head. When they find out their true identities, they decide to settle their differences on the battlefield."
The Kabuki Eighteen
Source: Kabuki Encyclopedia, An English-Language Adaption of Kabuki Jiten, Samuel L. Leiter, Greenwood Press, 1979, p. 152."The Kabuki Eighteen," a collection of plays established by Ichikawa Danjūrō VII, stresses the specialaragoto acting art of the Danjūrō line. In the Meiji period other acting families began to gather their most successful plays into similar collections. See the Title Page from the series The Kabuki Eighteen (Kabuki Juhachiban) for a list of the plays.
Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #990 |
| Title or Description | Ichikawa Danjūrō IX as Sōma Masakado in the kabuki play Kamahige (Beard and Sickle) 九卋市川団十郎 相馬将門 鎌髯 |
| Series | The Kabuki Eighteen (Kabuki Jūhachiban) 歌舞伎十八番 |
| Artist | Torii Kiyosada (1844-1901) and Torii Kiyotada VII (1875-1941) |
| Signature |  left-most signature: Tadakiyo hitsu 忠清筆 followed by Tadakiyo seal |
| Seal | as shown above: 画楽 Chōhō seal right; Tadakiyo seal left |
| Publication Date | 1896 (Meiji 29) 明治二十九年 (this collection's print does not carry the date, but other impressions show the date and publisher's information in the left margin.) |
| Publisher | 長谷川寿美 Hasegawa Sumi (publisher's seal or name, sometimes present in the left margin, is not present on this collection's print) |
| Engraver | 彫工弥太 Horikō Yata (carver's seal, sometimes present in the left margin, is not present on this collection's print) |
| Printer | 楷工大亀 Surikō Ōkame (printer's seal, sometimes present in the left margin is not present on this collection's print.) |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | excellent |
| Condition | good - not backed; light toning throughout; minor soiling |
| Genre | ukiyo-e; yakusha-e |
| Miscellaneous | embossing throughout |
| Format | vertical oban |
| H x W Paper | 15 x 10 1/2 in. (38.1 x 26.7 cm) |
| Literature | |
| Collections This Print | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston RES.53.11; Tokyo Metropolitan Library 5721-C008-16; Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum of Waseda University 201-0176 and 201-0185 and 201-0150; Edo Tokyo Museum 94202527 |
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