Kabuki Prints - Dating back nearly four hundred years, kabuki is a classic form of Japanese theater which combines dance and drama in highly stylized performances. This popular entertainment features colorful costumes with elaborate makeup and wigs along with spectacular staging, accompanied by live music. Kabuki woodblocks promoted contemporary plays and actors to an eager audience, who purchased the latest designs as they became available. The genre proved enormously popular, with thousands of kabuki prints issued during the Edo and Meiji eras.

Flower: Buddhist Monk, 1869 - Handsome kabuki portrait of a yamabushi or itinerant Buddhist monk looking over his shoulder suspiciously, a string of prayer beads in one hand and the other resting atop the hilt of his sword. He wears a purple brocade kimono over a yellow under robe, and a stole called a yui-gesa which has white pompoms. A nice large expressive figure set against a softly shaded night sky, with embossing on the yellow and white kimono and pompoms.

Artist - Kunichika (1835 - 1900)

Image Size - 13 3/4" x 9 3/8"

Condition - This print with good detail as shown. Backed with paper. A few stains. Please see photos for details.