Matsumoto Koshiro VII as Sukeroku, 1920 - Terrific shin-hanga kabuki portrait of Matsumoto Koshiro V as the street night Hanakawado Sukeroku, who is actually Soga Goro Tokimune, in the in the "Miuraya koshisaki" scene of the play "Sukeroku yukari no Edozakura" at the Imperial Theater in April 1917. He looks up with a rather haughty expression, wearing a black kimono with a floral crest on the shoulders over a softly shaded kimono. His hair is pulled back into a slender topknot tied with white cord, and he has a length of purple silk knotted around his forehead. A wonderfully expressive image, set off by a shimmering mica background. The blocks for all of Toyonari's actor prints were destroyed in the 1923 Kanto earthquake, and he moved onto other subject matter after that, so kabuki prints by him are extremely rare. A fine choice for a shin-hanga or kabuki enthusiast.

Signed - Toyonari ga
Publisher - Self-published with Yamamura Koka Hanga Kankokai (Publication Society of Yamamura Koka's prints)
Dated - Taisho 9 (1920) in circle within image at lower right

Artist - Yamamura Toyonari (1885 - 1942)

Image Size - 15 5/8" x 10 7/8" + margins as shown

Condition - This print with nice color and detail as shown. Slight creasing, including on face, a few tiny face, some surface loss to mica. Please see photos for details.