Comments - Handsome kabuki featuring Kawarazaki Gonjuro I as the disgraced samurai Nagoya Sanza. Banished by his clan after a valuable scroll in his care was stolen, Sanza vowed to retrieve the precious heirloom. At left, he stands outside a doorway at night, pushing up the sleeve of his black kimono, looking up with a slight frown. His hair is pulled back into a bushy upright topknot, tightly tied with cord. Inside the house at right, Shimobe Shikazo sprawls backwards onto the floor, flinging one hand out before him. A blossoming cherry tree decorates the panels lining the back of the room, while a pine tree frames the night sky at upper left above a bamboo garden fence. Ichimura Uzaemon plays Shikazo. A handsome design with expressive figures and a nicely detailed setting, with a burnished geometric pattern on the black kimono.

Artist - Toyokuni III/Kunisada (1786 - 1864)

Image Size - 13 3/4" x 19 1/4"

Condition - This print with excellent detail as shown. Two separate panels, backed with paper. A few wrinkles, spot. Light horizontal and vertical lines where backing papers meet. Please see photos for details.