The Actors Nakajima Wadaemon as Bōdara Chōzaemon and Nakamura Konozō as Gon of the Kanagawaya Boathouse.
Toyko: Tsutaya Juzaburo, 1794. Woodblock (nishiki-e) with ink, handcoloring and powdered dark gray mica on laid paper; 4 7/8 x 10 1/8 inches (378 x 257 mm), vertical ōban tate-e, the full sheet. In excellent condition. Printed 20th century. Impressions of this work may be found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the British Museum, among other institutions.
Notes: Reproduced in Christine Guth, "Japanese Art of the Edo Period," London: Orion Publishing, 1996; fig. 54.
"This dynamic double-bust portrait against a dark gray mica background provides a study in contrasting personality types. The scowling character on the right, known derisively as the “Dried Codfish” Bōdara Chōzaemon and played by Nakajima Wadaemon, is shown dressing down the “Homeless Boatman” Gon, played by Nakamura Konozō. The scene comes from A Medley of Tales of Revenge (Katakiuchi noriai-banashi), a play staged at the Kiri Theater in Edo in the fifth month of 1794, when the artist produced many of his “large-head portraits” (ōkubi-e). Tōshūsai Sharaku was producing prints for three different theaters simultaneously—testimony not only to the popularity of his designs at the time but also to the power of his publisher, Tsutaya Jūzaburō." -The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Item number: 1203
Price: $400.00
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