• Bandō Shūka 坂東しうか or 坂東志うか (poetry name of Mitsugorō III - 秀佳) - as Kōguya Yahei [香具や弥兵衛] - probably from the play Chūkō Ōiso ga Yoi (?) (忠孝染分纏)
Bandō Shūka 坂東しうか or 坂東志うか (poetry name of Mitsugorō III - 秀佳) - as Kōguya Yahei [香具や弥兵衛] - probably from the play Chūkō Ōiso ga Yoi (?) (忠孝染分纏)
Bandō Shūka 坂東しうか or 坂東志うか (poetry name of Mitsugorō III - 秀佳) - as Kōguya Yahei [香具や弥兵衛] - probably from the play Chūkō Ōiso ga Yoi (?) (忠孝染分纏)
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Utagawa Toyokuni I (初代歌川豊国) (artist 1769 – 02/24/1825)

Bandō Shūka 坂東しうか or 坂東志うか (poetry name of Mitsugorō III - 秀佳) - as Kōguya Yahei [香具や弥兵衛] - probably from the play Chūkō Ōiso ga Yoi (?) (忠孝染分纏)

Print

ca 1820
9.75 in x 14 in (Overall dimensions) Japanese woodblock print
Signed: Toyokuni ga
Publisher: Oyama Hangorō (Marks #426 - seal 01-093)
Censor’s seal: kiwame
Philadelphia Museum of Art - 1830 Shigeharu diptych showing Kōguya Yahei on the left panel
Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art - Toyokuni I diptych by the same publisher showing the same character
Waseda University - 1831 ehon publication of 'Kejōbumi ataru sugatami' Kōguya Yahei was prominently represented in an 1831 ehon publication, Kejōbumi ataru sugatami (戯場稿本当現建). The text is Utei Enba and the illustrations are by Kunisada. (See the link above.)

The link to the example in the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art confirms our identification of the role of this actor. Despite the differences between the two prints - ours stands out in a bare field, while theirs has the elements of a kabuki stage set - both men are wearing the same costume, but in somewhat different poses and the publisher is the same. (JSV)
Oyama Hangorō (小山屋半五郎) (publisher)
Bandō Mitsugorō III (三代目坂東三津五郎: 11/1799 to 12/1831) (actor)
actor prints (yakusha-e - 役者絵) (genre)