Ichikawa Danjūrō IX as Danshichi Kurobei (団七九郎兵衛) from the series <i>One Hundred Roles of Ichikawa Danjūrō</i> (<i>Ichikawa Danjūrō Engei Hyakuban</i> - 市川団十郎演芸百番)
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Toyohara Kunichika (豊原国周) (artist 1835 – 1900)

Ichikawa Danjūrō IX as Danshichi Kurobei (団七九郎兵衛) from the series One Hundred Roles of Ichikawa Danjūrō (Ichikawa Danjūrō Engei Hyakuban - 市川団十郎演芸百番)

Print

1897
9.5 in x 14 in (Overall dimensions) color woodblock print
Signed: Kunichika hitsu (国周筆)
Publisher: Fukuda Kumajirō (福田熊次郎)
Artist's seal: toshidama
Carver: Hori Ei (彫栄)
Date: Date: 1897 - Meiji 30, 8th Month
明治卅年八月
Waseda University
Honolulu Museum of Art
  • "In 1893 Kunichika undertook a commission for two series of single-sheet portraits that were each dedicated to an individual actor. The first of these, One hundred roles of Danjūrō, featured the major roles of Ichikawa Danjūrō IX (1838-1903) in a set of half-length portraits. A square cartouche in the upper register of each print contains a verse or illustration, and the series title cartouche is backed by peonies, a flower associated with Danjūrō IX.

    “While his best-known pieces from this period are triptychs, Kunichika produced some outstanding series of single-sheet portraits, such as the One hundred roles of Ichikawa Danjuro IX (Ichikawa Danjuro engei hyakuban) and One hundred roles of Baiko (Baiko hyakushu no uchi). Like Kunisada’s set of ‘large-head’ portraits, Kunichika’s two series may be regarded as ‘monuments to his [Kunichika’s] career’. Whilst Kunisada attempted an overview of all the greatest actors of the age, Kunichika’s two series focus on the Kabuki doyens, Ichikawa Danjuro IX and Onoe Kikugoro V.

    "The publisher Fukuda Kumajiro (together with Gusokuya Kahei) commissioned Kunichika to begin work on the One hundred roles of Ichikawa Danjuro IX in 1893. The series was completed posthumously in 1903, the year of the actor’s death and under the supervision of Fukuda Shojiro (d. 1925.) The prints in the series were sumptuously printed using expensive materials and techniques. Each image documents the actor’s most successful roles; a text or illustration appears in the upper register.”


Source: Time Present and Time Past: Images of a Forgotten Master: Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900), Amy Reigle Newland, Hotei Publishing, 1999, p. 127.
actor prints (yakusha-e - 役者絵) (genre)
Gusokuya Kahei (具足屋嘉兵衛) (publisher)
Ichikawa Danjūrō IX (九代目市川團十郞: July 1874 to 1903) (actor)
Fukuda Kumajirō (福田熊次郎) (publisher)
Danshichi Kurobei (団七九郎兵衛) (role)
Meiji era (明治時代: 1868-1912) (genre)