Twenty-six kabuki actors, listed below, at a New Year's party. The actor Bandō Kichiroku I, "a low-ranking travelling actor"1 is costumed as a turtle (a symbol of longevity) in the center panel, paired with the actor Nakamura Tsuruzō II, supporting tachiyaku actor,2 in a dance. They are being watched with critical eyes by their more famous colleagues such as Ichikawa Danjūrō IX in the plaid-patterned kimono in the center of the right sheet, Ichikawa Sadanji I sitting over the brazier to Danjūrō's right and Onōe Kikugorō V in the left sheet holding the red fan.
Right Sheet (top row right to left, followed by bottom row right to left):
Bandō Kakitsu I [1]坂東家橘Ichikawa Danjūrō IX [9]市川団十郎
Ichikawa Sadanji I [1]市川左団次
Ichikawa Kodanji V [5]市川小団次
Kataoka Ichizō III [3]片岡市蔵
Sawamura Tosshi VI [6]沢村訥子
Sawamura Gennosuke IV [4]沢村源之助
Ichikawa Teruzō []市川照蔵
Center Sheet (top row right to left, followed by bottom row right to left):
Nakamura Fukusuke III [3]中村福助
Nakamura Fukusuke III [3]中村福助
Ichikawa Bujaku? []市川舛若
Nakamura Fukusuke IV [4]中村福助
Nakamura Dengorō III [3]中村伝五郎
Onoe Einosuke I [1]尾上栄之助
Nakamura Tsuruzō II [2]中村鶴蔵
Seki Sanjūrō IV [4]関三十郎
Bandō Kichiroku I [1]坂東喜知六
Left Sheet (top row right to left, followed by bottom row right to left):
Ichikawa Kuzō III [3]市川九蔵
Onōe Kikugorō V [5]尾上菊五郎
Onōe Matsusuke IV [4]尾上松助
Iwai Matsunosuke IV [4]岩井松之助
Sawamura Tanosuke IV [4]沢村田之助
Ichikawa Sumizō V (turtle) [5]市川寿美蔵
Kataoka Gadō III [3]片岡我童
Ichikawa Gonjūrō I [1]市川権十郎
Nakamura Shikan IV [4]中村芝翫
The Actors Pictured
For background on the actors pictured see their respective entries in the article The Kabuki Actor on this site.
1 Kabuki21 website https://www.kabuki21.com/minosuke.php
1 Kabuki21 website https://www.kabuki21.com/minosuke.php
Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #1726 |
| Title (Description) | Actors' New Year’s Party 俳優新年筵会 Haiyū shinnen enkai |
| Artist | Utagawa Kunimasa IV (1848-1920) |
| Signature |  |
| Seal | Toshidama seal beneath signature as shown above |
| Publication Date | December 1886 明治19年12月 日（御届) |
| Publisher |  [Marks: not shown] artist: 画工 [gakō] 竹内栄久 [Takenōchi Hidehisa, artist's birth name] followed by address |
| Carver | |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | excellent |
| Condition | fair - paper loss and wrinkling; overall toning; repairs using paper tape on verso, full size sheets; not backed |
| Genre | ukiyo-e; yakusha-e |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Format | vertical oban triptych |
| H x W Paper | 13 3/4 x 9 1/4 in. (34.9 x 23.5 cm) each sheet |
| Literature | |
| Collections This Print | The Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum of Waseda University 201-0645, 201-1197 |
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