• Five actors in casual attire in <i>A Cool Evening at Ryōgoku Bridge</i> (両国橋夕涼之図) - Onoe Kikugorō V as 音羽屋清吉 and Ichikawa Sadanji I as 高島屋藤助 on the right, Kataoka Gadō III as 松島屋房八 and Nakamura Fukusuke III as 成駒屋小文吾 in the middle and is a woman with the description Yanagibashi no ko Hide (柳橋の小ひで) on the left
Five actors in casual attire in <i>A Cool Evening at Ryōgoku Bridge</i> (両国橋夕涼之図) - Onoe Kikugorō V as 音羽屋清吉 and Ichikawa Sadanji I as 高島屋藤助 on the right, Kataoka Gadō III as 松島屋房八 and Nakamura Fukusuke III as 成駒屋小文吾 in the middle and is a woman with the description Yanagibashi no ko Hide (柳橋の小ひで) on the left
Five actors in casual attire in <i>A Cool Evening at Ryōgoku Bridge</i> (両国橋夕涼之図) - Onoe Kikugorō V as 音羽屋清吉 and Ichikawa Sadanji I as 高島屋藤助 on the right, Kataoka Gadō III as 松島屋房八 and Nakamura Fukusuke III as 成駒屋小文吾 in the middle and is a woman with the description Yanagibashi no ko Hide (柳橋の小ひで) on the left
Comments and Tags (0)
Share

Toyohara Kunichika (豊原国周) (artist 1835 – 1900)

Five actors in casual attire in A Cool Evening at Ryōgoku Bridge (両国橋夕涼之図) - Onoe Kikugorō V as 音羽屋清吉 and Ichikawa Sadanji I as 高島屋藤助 on the right, Kataoka Gadō III as 松島屋房八 and Nakamura Fukusuke III as 成駒屋小文吾 in the middle and is a woman with the description Yanagibashi no ko Hide (柳橋の小ひで) on the left

Print

1877
30 in x 14.25 in (Overall dimensions) Japanese color woodblock print
Signed: Toyohara Kunichika hitsu
豊原国周筆
Artist's seal: toshidama
Publisher: possibly Kobayashi Shinkichi
小林新吉
Carver: Hori Yata
Date: Meiji 10 (明治十年)
Waseda University - right panel
Waseda University - middle panel
Waseda University - left panel
Edo-Tokyo Museum
Ritsumeikan University - left panel only - misdated as 8/1885 The actors are identified by their yagō or guild names. For example, Takashimaya Sadanji I is actually Ichikawa Sadanji I (1842-1904).

Perhaps the female figure on the right is not an actor at all, but the accompanying cartouche may only be a description. Andrew Markus wrote in 'Shogakai: Celebrity Banquets of The Late Edo Period' in Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies Vol. 53, No. 1, June 1993, 141: "The preferred district [for shogakai or calligraphy and painting gatherings] was Yanagibashi, at the confluence of the Kanda and Sumida Rivers, a hub of river traffic. Originally a bustling point of embarkation for pleasure launches or for discreet ferry service to the Yoshiwara or Fukagawa pleasure districts, Yanagibashi soon acquired a lively character of its own. All four of the restaurants that prominently advertise kashi-zashiki rental banqueting facilities in a classified business directory of 1824 are in the Yanagibashi or Ryogoku Bridge district immediately adjacent."
actor prints (yakusha-e - 役者絵) (genre)
Meiji era (明治時代: 1868-1912) (genre)
Onoe Kikugorō V (五代目尾上菊五郎: 8/1868 to 2/1903) (actor)
Ichikawa Sadanji I (初代市川左團次: from 1/1865 to August 7, 1904) (actor)
Kataoka Gadō III (三代目片岡我童: from 1/1872 to 12/1894) (actor)
Kobayahsi Shinkichi (小林新吉) (publisher)
Ryōgokubashi (両国橋) (genre)